Journey in Johto
by Vamprissqueen
Summary: May continues her own journey through the Johto region. But she's not alone! Joined by new faces, old friends, tougher rivals, and plenty of humor, adventure, and drama, can she survive to make it to the Grand Festival? Rated T because I'm paranoid.
1. The Boring Beginning

**IMPORTANT! READ THIS FIRST!**

**I have re-done this chapter! This is the redone version! …obviously…hehe…**

**Well, unfortunately, there is still a lot of description; this is the boring chapter, people…I'm sorry…I tried to take out some of the descriptions and unnecessary words (there was quite a bit, I do realize), so I may have helped some. However, there ARE still some issues…but then again, every story has a boring part…most of them being the beginning when they introduce everything…which I'm doing here…**

**And, in my defense, this is the boring chapter (hence the title), so if you really don't want to read it, you can probably skip to the end, where May meets her new friend, and still be up to date with the story! Good luck!**

**Okay, one more note! So I'm going to say that, also in my defense, if I get anything wrong, you reviews are free to point them out, but in the end it will be up to me to change them or not. I may just pull the whole, "this is a fanfiction so so-and-so can have a freakin' Gyarados if I want them to have one!" But, over all, I will strive for accuracy. Also, I am trying to incorporate this story so that it actually DOES semi-make sense with the actual show! I know it will be a challenge, but I LIVE for challenges! XD**

**But, oh well, it is what it is...so I now present AGAIN...**

**May's Journey In Johto!**

**After this quick disclaimer!**

**May: Lexi, in no way or form, owns Pokemon or me for that matter!**

**Me: Sadly no...but I wish!**

* * *

**Chapter 1: The Boring Beginning**

May sighed heavily as she packed her few belongings. She was never good with good-byes, but the past week had brought her the hardest good-byes she had ever said in her life, though probably not the last. It was almost time to board the ferry to the Johto Region, where May would be continuing her dream of entering (and winning) more Pokémon contests. She wished Ash and Brock would be there to see her off, but she and Max had left those two back in the Kanto region. Brock was probably at his gym and Ash at his home, or perhaps they were even on their way to the Sinnoh region, where Ash had said he was going next to continue his journey of becoming a Pokémon master. Regardless, neither would be coming with her to Johto, and she probably wouldn't see them for a long time. That was what had made it such a hard good-bye.

She remembered having her last lunch with them and running down to the dock when they heard the ferry, desperately trying not to miss it. Luckily, she and Max had been allowed to board just in time. Then, the two of them had stood on the deck, waving to their friends as the ferry moved farther and farther away from the dock.

Brock had stood calmly, his bronze arm waving back and forth just enough for them to notice. His spiked black hair looked like it had every normal day, along with his kind expression. He had been wearing his chocolate colored jacket with the forest green T-shirt. His pants were a color of just a bit lighter brown than his jacket and flared out to reveal his black and white sneakers.

Ash, on the other hand, had been practically leaping in the air, arms waving wildly so they could see him. He had been wearing a sad expression on his face, along with his dark blue sleeveless jacket that matched his sneakers. His baggy jeans were light blue and he had worn fingerless black gloves on his hands. On his head, his red hat had stood out against his spiked black hair; she was surprised it didn't blow away with his frantic actions.

Pikachu had been perched on the edge of one of the poles on the dock, bouncing his little, dull yellow colored body up and down in a sort of jump, waving his short arms. A smile was plastered onto his large head, and a couple of sparks flashed out of his red circles on his cheeks. His two large, black eyes had betrayed his sadness at them leaving, however. His pointed yellow ears were bouncing up and down along with his zigzagged-shaped tail. She would really miss that little Pokémon.

She remembered laughing loudly and shouting her good-byes, trying hard not to let the tears of their departure surface. Beside her, Max hadn't been as strong because she remembered seeing his eyes water as the ferry pulled away. It had been hard for both of them to leave their new friends.

Then, they were gone. May remembered feeling horribly downhearted, hugging her little brother as the two of them disappeared into the sunset, leaving their friends and Kanto behind. About a week later, they had found themselves back home in Petalburg.

May sighed again as she felt the aching of her heart. Ash and Brock had become her greatest friends on their journey through the Hoenn and Kanto regions, and now it almost felt empty without them. Even Max, her own younger brother, wouldn't be coming with her on her next adventure. He would be able to start his own Pokémon journey soon, and Caroline, their mother, didn't want him to leave home yet. Plus, May guessed he would rather choose the Gym Battles over the Contests any day, so coming with her to Johto would only make him long to battle at the Gyms even more.

So, May would be going alone. She would be wandering the region, competing in contests, all by herself. She silently feared that she wouldn't be able to handle surviving on her own. Though, she'd never show any of this fear to her parents or her brother. They all believed she was able to go off completely on her own, and she wasn't about to let them down. Besides, contests were too important to her. If traveling alone was what it took to go off and compete, then that would be exactly what she did.

May glanced at the time; she had exactly half an hour before the ferry left. That was enough time to get down to the docks and say some more of the hard good-byes she was dreading. Taking a deep breath, she checked all her things one more time to make sure they were there before slipping her pack around her waist.

She sighed as she glanced at herself in her mirror. She looked like she always did; her dark brown hair and bangs hanging down from underneath her red bandana. Her red, short sleeve top hugged her body and revealed a white undershirt beneath it. Her dark, navy blue shorts didn't even reach her knees, but she liked the way they felt, moving with her legs as if they were a part of her skin. Aside from her black socks and red sneakers, the rest of her legs were bare. May always liked to wear her short black and white gloves, too, even though they only reached a little past her wrist. Well, at least they covered her fingers completely. As she gently flexed her fingers, May remembered how much she had always loved the feel of the cool material covering her hands from view.

When she figured she had had enough time to prepare herself for the dreaded moment to come, May turned quietly away from the mirror and, with one last look at all her belongings she would be leaving behind, left her room. Slowly, she made her way down the stairs of her home, taking in everything; it would be quite a while before she would be back again.

"Come on, May!" Max called to her when he saw her come down the stairs. "Your ferry's gonna leave soon! We have to get down to the dock!"

"Don't worry, honey," their mother said calmly to her son. "May has some time left before she has to board the ferry."

"Yeah, Max, don't be so anxious to get rid of your sister," their father joked, reaching out a hand and ruffling the little boy's hair. "You'll end up missing her twice as much when she's gone!"

May's gaze rested on each of them, three of the most important people in her life. Her brother was gazing impatiently at her and then at the clock. He was wearing his usual green T-shirt with a pair of beige shorts and tennis shoes. His large glasses were crooked a little on his nose and his short, jet-black hair was a mess, but that was most likely from not getting a good sleep the previous night rather than her father ruffling it.

Caroline, her mother, was finishing cleaning dishes from their breakfast earlier. Her hair, the same color as May's, looked the same as it always had; it fell from her head in large waves, and her bangs were parted down the middle. She still wore her light orange top, complete with a short silver necklace that never touched the lining of her shirt around her neck. Her amber skirt extended a little past her knees, and it was enhanced by the auburn rope tied around the waist. Over her shirt, Caroline wore a salmon colored jacket finished with a lovely rose broach.

May's father, Norman, the Petalburg City Gym Leader, smiled at her from where he stood next to Max. It was one of those fatherly smiles; the one where he knows what's about to happen and wants to keep the best attitude possible. Standing next to Max, some of their physical feature similarities were more prominent, like their black hair (though not the same style) and dark eyes. Norman was wearing his red jacket he loved so much. It was a perfect match with his murky gray pants and dark hiking boots.

"Okay," May said when she reached the bottom of the stairs, "let's go." She heaved a big breath and nodded to her family. Then, she moved towards the door with Max and Norman following behind her. Caroline was a little slower.

"Let's wait for your mother," Norman nodded towards the open door, indicating that May's mother still had some dishes to clean.

May stayed quiet and just nodded, looking up at the sky. The morning sun was just poking out from behind a fluffy white cloud, the only one to be seen in the sky today. It seemed like today's leg of the ferry journey would be quite peaceful and, by the looks of it, quite warm as well. Still, May knew that the light breeze blowing now would be multiplied probably tenfold once she was aboard the ferry. That would make it a little chillier; it probably wasn't going to be the warmest on deck…

"I wasn't trying to get rid of May, Dad," Max muttered, drawing May's attention back to her family. Norman's earlier joke seemed to have blown right over his head. "I just don't want her to miss her ferry…"

Norman laughed. "I know, Max. I was only kidding. I know you don't want to see your sister go any more than I do."

"Oh…" Max fell silent again, and Caroline chose that moment to join them, closing and locking the door to their house behind her. Then, they were off on the short walk to the ferry. Norman and Caroline attempted to make the walk much more cheerful by discussing topics not related to May's departure. For awhile, it worked quite well and the family was actually laughing and joking. But then, they reached the dock, and the large white ferry loomed in front of them, the boarding plank just a few paces away.

"What's wrong, May?" Norman asked when May hesitated to board.

"Nothing," she said quickly. "It's just…it's harder than I thought…"

"Don't worry, sweetie," Caroline told her with a smile, pulling her daughter into her arms. "You want to pursue your dreams, and even if it takes you to Johto, know that your brother, father, and I will love, support, and will always be with you at heart throughout the entire way."

"Yeah, sis! We'll always have your back!" Max added, taking his turn hugging his sister, who hugged him back tightly.

"And we'll be watching every contest on the T.V." Norman reminded her, brining a smile to May's lips. "But you should hurry. Your ferry leaves in ten minutes."

May nodded and embraced her father tightly.

"Now go show Johto what you're made of!" Norman gave her a big smile.

"Right," May nodded, more confident of what she was now doing than ever before.

Ten minutes later, May stood on the deck of the ferry waving to her family and friends as the large boat slowly sailed away from the docks.

"Bye May!" Max hollered over the noise of the ship's horn.

"Bye Max!" she called back.

"Have a safe trip, honey!" Caroline waved, smiling.

"I will, Mom!"

"And take care of yourself!"

"Don't worry!"

"Call us often!" Norman bellowed.

"Whenever I'm in reach of a phone!" May assured him.

"We'll be waiting!" Her father's comment was the last May heard before the ferry was too far out of range for her to hear anything else.

"I love you all!" May called, but she knew that they couldn't hear her. She stared blankly out at the disappearing land mass, the ferry rocking gently on the crystal blue waves.

_Well, here I go. Off to the Johto region. But what do I do on this ferry for _days_ until I get there?_

In the end, May settled on finding her room first. Cabin 224 was a small, but homey looking room with a single bed in the corner, complete with the most simple white pillow case, light blue sheets, and comforter. As small as it was, there seemed to be plenty of space for her Pokémon to hang around in the room. There was a short dresser against the far pale blue colored wall, and a door leading to a small bathroom on her right. The room was completely covered with soft blue carpet, and the bathroom beheld navy and white tiles in the pattern of a checkerboard. The deep blue rugs scattered across the tile went along well with the wall, whose color rivaled the ocean on which the ferry was traveling. The mahogany cupboards and ocean themed décor, like the Goldeen-themed towels and Seaking shower curtain, only added to the affect.

Sighing, May sat down on her bed and gazed out the small porthole.

"Hmm," she frowned as she tried to decide what to do next. "Oh! Come on out everybody!" With that, she tossed her Pokéballs into the air. Her Beautifly, Skitty, Eevee, Munchlax, Squirtle and Blaziken popped out of their Pokéballs and glanced around the small room. Bulbasaur—err—_Venasaur_ now, thanks to all that training with Professor Oak, had stayed behind with the Professor at his lab. Venasaur seemed happy there, so May figured she'd keep her there until she needed her for a contest or something.

"Squirt, squirtle?" Squirtle cocked his head at May curiously.

"Yep," May nodded. "We're finally headed to the Johto region." She couldn't really understand what her Pokémon were saying exactly, but their body language and tone of voice helped with figuring out their intention behind their exclamations.

"Skit! Skit skitty!" Skitty cried in excitement, leaping up and down.

May laughed, figuring she was excited about competing. "Don't worry. It won't be long before you'll get to compete in contests again!"

"Beautifly fly beauti!" Beautifly cooed, pleased at the thought of competing as well.

"It is exciting," May nodded. "But I hope I can beat Drew and Harley. They said they would be going to Johto too…" She gave a small involuntary shudder at the thought of seeing Harley again. It wasn't that she hated his guts or anything it was just that the guy creeped her out a lot…and not to mention he tried more than once to get her disqualified from contests. May feared that one of his schemes might one day get her killed!

"Eee, vee vee…" Eevee brought her back from her thoughts. From the way that the little normal type shook her head and closed her eyes, she wasn't looking forward to seeing him again either. Opening her eyes again, she leapt up onto the dresser to peek out the small porthole.

May laughed and shook her head. She watched as her Pokémon soon made themselves comfortable around the room. Eevee kept her perch on the dresser, peeking out the porthole at the waves that kept smacking against the ship's side. Her long brown ears twitched with the rocking of the boat. She shook her little brown head, shaking out the thick white fluff around her neck. Her tail twitched behind her, its soft, brown, furry pattern fading to the fluffy white halfway up her tail.

Munchlax, the lazy Pokémon that he was, was taking a nap under the bed. His two little horn-shaped ears stuck out straight as he slumbered and a drool bubble was growing and shrinking at his mouth with each snore. His fur was almost completely bluish apart from his tan chin and spot on his tummy. His stout little arms slumped against the floor along with his wide feet, and his stomach bulged outward as he slept.

May sighed. She definitely needed to get that Pokémon on a diet…

Squirtle was also taking a nap, no doubt talked into it by Munchlax. Squirtle's abnormally small body was curled tightly around his shell, with his short, blue arms and legs tucked into the brown shell on his back. His blue, curled tail lay across Munchlax's stomach and moved up and down with the lethargic Pokémon's breathing. Like Munchlax, Squirtle's small, circular, light blue head also had a small drool bubble forming at his mouth, growing and shrinking as he breathed.

May frowned as she watched the turtle-like Pokémon. For some reason, no matter how much May tried, Squirtle never seemed to grow…

Unlike Squirtle and Munchlax, May's Skitty was sitting in a corner with Beautifly hovering near her. Apparently, the two were having an engaging conversation in their Pokémon language. Skitty was sitting on a chair set up in the little corner. Her very short, stubby legs were folded beneath her tan stomach. The pink fur on her back ruffled every so often with her movement, along with her pink, triangular ears. Her tail behind her twitched every so often as well. Every so often, May could hear Skitty purr to herself as she groomed her fur between speech.

Beautifly hovered just above Skitty. Her tiny body was built between two powerful, but very colorful, wings. She flapped them rapidly to remain airborne and her antennae twitched whenever Skitty spoke. Beautifly's big blue eyes watched Skitty most of the time, but every so often, they would glance over at May, as if she was making sure May was all right. Of all May's Pokémon, Beautifly was definitely the most caring for May's welfare.

Blaziken wasn't really doing anything. The fire Pokémon was leaning against the wall across from May, his yellow eyes focusing on something May couldn't see. Every so often, his red beak would move, as if he was remembering something someone had once said. One of his yellow, massive feet was leaning up against the wall, while the other kept his balance on the floor. The white fur that fell like hair down his back moved with his head motion. The fur covered the upper half of his red and yellow chest. His three-clawed arms were crossed over his vigorous chest and his small, triangular red tail twitched every so often.

After a little while of watching her Pokémon adjust to their new surroundings, May stood and stretched. Her stomach was talking to her and she knew what that meant.

"Okay guys," she addressed her Pokémon. "Who wants lunch?" She figured the ferry had to have some kind of banquet hall with food both for her _and_ her Pokémon.

"Munchlax?" Munchlax cried, awakening instantly at the mention of food.

May sighed as she looked down at the indolent Pokémon. "Always thinking about food, huh Munchlax?"

"Ti skit! Skit skitty!" Skitty agreed.

"Munch munchlax lax lax!" Munchlax argued.

"Skit! Ti! skitty!" Skitty fired back.

"Hey, don't get into a fight, you two!" May scolded them.

"Eee! Vee vee!" Eevee said, apparently backing May up.

"Blaziken blaze blaze…" Blaziken added in a slightly irritated tone.

"Beau fly beau beautifly." Beautifly looked at May, her large eyes pleading with her to get something to eat.

"Squirt, squirt squirtle!" Squirtle agreed.

"Okay, okay," May said. "Let's head down to the main deck and see what they have in the dining hall. Sound good?"

After various cries of agreement, May returned her Pokémon into their Pokéballs. She was just about to leave the room, when her door opened.

"Oh!" A girl her age stood in the doorway. "I'm so sorry! I thought this was my room, but I guess I'm next door! Hehe…sorry!"

"No, it's okay," May said with a smile.

"I have a horrible memory. I'm really sorry," she apologized again. She turned to go, but must have reconsidered for some reason because she turned back around. Smiling at May, she extended her hand. "My name's Ella. I'm a Co-ordinator and I'm traveling to Johto to participate in Pokémon Contests!" she stated proudly, tucking a strand of her extremely black hair behind her ear.

May shook the girl's hand. "My name's May. I'm a Co-ordinator, too."

"Really?" Ella's green eyes lit up in pure delight. "That's SO awesome! Pokémon contests ROCK!"

"Hey, I was just going to go down to the dining hall to get some lunch for me and my Pokémon. Do you and your Pokémon want to come with us?" This could be May's chance to meet a new friend. It would sure be a welcome after those recent good-byes…

"Sure!" Ella replied. "Let me just stop in my room and grab my Pokémon…" Her voice trailed off as she ran next door. She was back in a flash with a small pink bag, a darker shade than her mini-skirt she was wearing, hanging over her right shoulder. Like May's shorts, Ella's mini-skirt didn't reach to her knees; her arms extended farther than it. It was belted around the top (May figured more for a fashion reason than support) with a band of light, light pink clasped with a silver circlet at the center. Ella's sleeveless blouse was a deep, vibrant red and covered near the top by a short pink jacket. Her left wrist displayed silver bangles, but the right was bare. It was similar to the silver necklace around her neck, except that the necklace held charm farther down at the bottom: a yellow lightening bolt—the only color other than pink or red that she wore on her. Ella's black hair was pulled back into a loose, high pony tail with a pink hair tie; only the shorter ends that framed her face and her sway bangs, which were parted to extend near her left eye, fell freely, as they would not reach back far enough to be pulled into the ponytail. Each ear was pierced twice and adorned with twin ruby studs and small silver hoops. She held all this up on a pair of thin, fair skinned legs finished with a pair of delicate silver heels criss-crossing up her feet to her ankles.

"All set?" May asked.

"Yep, let's go!"

They found the dining hall easy enough. Ella seemed to know her way around the ship extremely well already. After just five minutes, it dawned on May that Ella was the chatterbox type; the kind of person who would chat nonstop all day long and run around the place at a hyper speed. But she was extremely sociable, in a pleasant way, and the two were already becoming fast friends. This was going to make May's two days on the ferry a lot easier to bear.

May hadn't really noticed when they met after Ella barged into her room, but Ella was actually extremely pretty. It sort of May feel uncomfortable standing next to her; like she would be judged on her own appearance just by being near her. The cute clothing Ella wore hugged her slim figure perfectly, and the bright, matching eye make-up gave her face a young, innocent look. Her eyes were two big gorgeous emeralds that seemed to illuminate the entire room when she was in a happy mood, which seemed to May was all the time.

"Here we are!" Ella announced as they stepped through the large double doors and into the dining room. May stared at the beauty of the dining hall with her mouth open. The blood red carpeting and maroon colored walls seemed to set each other off and gave a wonderful, exotic look to the room, like something that would belong at a wedding reception more than a dining hall on a ferry. All the tables had clean, white tablecloths draped over them, and an expensive looking chandelier hung from the ceiling. The long buffet tables near the main doors were adorned with white tablecloths as well, but were also littered with silver platters and bins of all kinds of different foods. The far end of the room lifted into a small mahogany stage, and the carpeting ended into a polished dance floor large enough for any crowd imaginable. The whole room was completely breathtaking.

Beside her, Ella laughed when she saw her expression. "You could stuff an entire watermelon in that mouth, May! You look like you've never seen anything like this!"

"That's because I haven't," May replied, still staring.

"Yeah, it is a bit much," Ella agreed. "But my uncle loves ballrooms. That's the reason this is all so fancy. It doesn't matter that the rest of the ferry looks nothing like this, as long as the ballroom looks as extravagant as possible. See that dark wood stage over there on the other side of the room? At night, they get a DJ in here and the whole thing turns into a ballroom where the guests can dance and have a blast! It's a lot of fun, trust me!"

"It sounds amazing! But wait, your uncle…?"

"Yeah, he's captain of this ferry."

"Oh…" May didn't know what else to say. "That must be nice having an uncle that captains a ferry."

Ella shrugged. "The only cool thing is that I get free passage. But I still have to book a room and can't stay in the captain's quarters." She giggled. "My uncle's always telling me 'A captain needs his space!' and stuff like that! It's kind of a bummer because the captain's quarters are REALLY nice. Since he practically lives in that room and all, he has really overdone it with decorating over the years…"

"He sounds like a really nice guy, though," May said.

"I'll have to introduce you sometime," Ella nodded.

"Yeah, I'd love to meet the captain in person," May agreed just as her stomach grumbled.

Ella laughed. "Sure, May, but let's get some food first. I'm sure you're not the only starving one here. I bet your Pokémon are hungry too."

"What about you? Aren't you hungry?"

"Me? I'm always hungry, so no one ever asks me that question!" Ella giggled girlishly again and shrugged her shoulders. "I could eat all day if my uncle, or my friends, would let me!"

Now it was May's turn to laugh. "Really? I used to know someone who was always hungry. His name is Ash and he and I wer–_are_ good friends," May corrected herself, a frown starting on her face. She quickly shook it off and continued. "I, myself, have a…large appetite."

Ella's smile stayed on her face, widening slightly. "No lie? That's awesome! We could be, like, best friends forever, May! Now come on! The buffet table's right over there. And you can load some trays of special gourmet Pokémon food and Pokéblocks for your Pokémon at the table next to it. Or if you want, you they can just stuff their faces at the Pokémon buffet! Haha! Come on, let's eat!"

May's stomach growled again. "You don't have to tell me twice!"

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**There it is! I hope the revision helped somewhat! I tried to get rid of most of the description, but sadly most still remained...but this WAS the boring chapter...**

**My first installment in this new story! Yay! I'm so happy and excited to watch this take off! I'm giddy with happiness right now! And do you know what would make me happier? REVIEWS! XD**

**So, review, my duckies, and I shall give thee apples! Yay! Questions/comments/concerns/all others are accepted in reviews! Y'all know the drill! So I'll just sign off for now and get started with chapter 2! **

**Lemme know how you like this! **

**- Lex**


	2. Dancing and a Creep

**My post-thanksgiving treat to all! Yay! I love Turkey Day! ^,^**

**Anyhoo, moving on, I'm just gonna say that hopefully this chapter goes a lot better than the last one...hehe...sorry about the last. The first chapter IS almost always the toughest when setting up for the rest of the story, but that being said I DO realize I just might have overdone it with the descriptions, but in my own defence I really WAS practicing! Guess I was just practicing a little TOO much...who knows, maybe I'll go back and change it. I really haven't decided yet. It was the Pokemon I was having trouble with when it came to descriptions so maybe that's where it went wrong...and I'm rambling again so this probably doesn't even make sense to you people anymore**

**Paul: Then why are you still talking?**

**Me: Shut it, emo-boy! I still don't like you.**

**All righty, hopefully this is better! So read on, my duckies, and enjoy this slightly ridiculous, crazy story! With luck, you know what you're diving in to! Haha! XD **

**And the best part...SOME MORE OF MY OC'S! MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!**

**Disclaimer!**

**Paul: Lexi does not own Pokemon. Good thing too because we'd be in for trouble.**

**Me: Hey!**

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**Chapter 2: Dancing and a Creep**

May followed Ella around the many tables carrying her tray, which was piled high with food.

"Oh my goodness, May! We're like long lost sisters!" Ella had exclaimed when they noticed that they both had piled their trays with mountains of food. They were both laughing when May let her Pokémon out to eat. Ella had apparently forgotten that her Pokémon had already eaten a few hours ago, so it was only May's Pokémon that would be dining at the Pokémon buffet table. However, Ella's Pokémon were still out of their Pokéballs, chatting and getting to know May's anyway.

May glanced briefly behind her, making sure her Pokémon were enjoying themselves at the Pokémon buffet, but hopefully not eating all the food there was on the table. They would stay over at that smaller table while May and Ella ate at one of the elegant tables. May hoped to death that she didn't spill anything on the gleaming white tablecloth. That would be just embarrassing.

"Ella! Ella, over here!" two female voices called to them suddenly in perfect sync. May glanced over at one of the tables off to her left. Sitting at it were two girls (obviously the ones who had called them over) and a boy, all looking to be about her age.

"Hi guys!" Ella called, rushing to join them. May hurried to catch up with the energetic girl, wondering absently how Ella was managing to keep her enormous pile of food from spilling all over the floor as she hurried along so quickly.

"Who's your friend?" the boy asked when the two had reached the table. Then, he noticed the food piled as high on May's tray as on Ella's. "Woah, Ella. I can't believe there's someone else like you in the world. I thought you were one of a kind…" May blushed and looked down at her food.

"Austin!" Ella slapped his arm lightly. "You're making her feel uncomfortable!"

"Ow! Sorry…" the boy, Austin, mumbled, rubbing his arm. "You know, you hit harder than you think."

Ella rolled her eyes. "Wimp." Then, she turned to the two girls sitting on the other side (though it was really a circular table without technical "sides," the girls still sat in chairs opposite the boy). "Twins, this is May."

"Hi," May said, managing to give the two girls a smile.

"Hey! Woah, woah, woah!" Austin bunted in. "You may hit me, but you can NOT kick me out of the conversation! That is just rude!"

"Come sit down," one of the girls gestured to the empty seats at the table, making a point not to even glance at Austin.

"Okay! This is not fair!" Austin cried. "Come on guys—girls!"

"Just for that," Ella said, "I'm not talking to you for a month."

"What? This is ridiculous!"

"Kidding!" Ella giggled and plopped down next to Austin. May slowly sank into the chair next to her, placing her mountain of food down in front of her.

"Oh yeah," Ella turned to May, "these are my friends, obviously. Well, you've kinda met Austin." She jerked her thumb behind her towards the boy.

"Oh, so you're talking to me now?"

"Shut up!" Ella cried, lightly slapping him again. To May, Austin seemed like the normal guy you saw wherever you went, wearing the normal jeans and sweatshirt, orange to be precise, with white lettering advertising Pokésheek (Ella had explained earlier that Pokésheek was the "hottest clothing line in all of Johto," and where she bought all of her clothes). His orange tennis shoes stuck out from underneath his jeans, an obvious contrast to the dark blue. His short coffee-colored hair hung loose across his head, stopping above his ears and running only to the back of his neck. Thin bangs cut off just before a pair of friendly, chocolate-colored eyes. Like Ella, he also wore a silver chain clasped around his neck. However, his made way for a charm in the shape of an emerald leaf. May figured there had to be some significance, but she just didn't know how to ask.

"And these are the Twins," Ella interrupted her thoughts, gesturing to the two girls sitting across from May. May glanced at them and frowned. The two looked nothing alike. One of them, the one who had told May to sit down, had light, reddish-brown hair that formed many bouncy curls. Her blue-grey eyes were bright and cheerful, but her skin was extremely pale. The other was dark skinned and had jet-black hair that was straighter than the carpet beneath May's feet. Her eyes were dark, dark brown, almost black. Still, both had the same hair length; it fell down to the middle of their backs. And their outfit choice was almost completely similar as well. Both girls wore a sweater-like shirt with a neckline that started at their shoulders instead of actually near their necks. The shirts revealed their middles and had three-quarter length sleeves, except the black haired girl's was a bright, lime green color, while the reddish-brown haired girl's was a purple-pink magenta color. A darker shade of their color lined the top and bottom of the shirt, giving them a very cute look. Unlike the shirts, both girls wore the same dark blue jeans that were identical in color, shape, and even size. Their shoes were of the same style too: high-tops with white and the color that matched their shirts. Each girl had their ear pierced twice and wore both colors in their ears. The order differed, however; the reddish-brown head wore pink and then green, while the black head wore green first followed by pink. May also quickly made note that, like Austin and Ella, the Twins wore silver necklaces as well. Their charms, however, matched; they were both in the shape of sapphire water droplets. Now she knew there HAD to be some significance for them.

May thought she must have had a funny look on her face because all four of them, Ella, the Twins, and Austin, burst out laughing.

"We don't look like twins," Black hair told her.

"But we act like them," Reddish-brown finished.

"So we call them the Twins," Ella added.

"It's weird because they respond at the same time and finish each other's sentences sometimes. It's like they can hear each other's thoughts or something," Austin commented. "But you get used to it after a while."

"Oh, and by the way," the girl with the black hair looked up from her food and pointed to the girl next to her. "She's Bailey."

"And that's Lola," the other Twin piped up, pointing to the other.

"Don't worry if it seems weird that they talk for each other like that," Ella told May. "It's like one of those things that actual twins have. Only, Lola and Bailey aren't real twins…"

"Of course," Austin chimed in, "it doesn't help that they have twin starter Pokémon."

"Huh?" May stared at the Twins incomprehensively.

Both Twins nodded.

"Yep," Lola said.

"We'll show you," Bailey added. With bright smiles on their faces, both Twins launched a Pokéball into the air.

"Mud-" A cry erupted from the Pokémon released from Lola's Pokéball.

"Kip!" the other Pokémon, which was freed from Bailey's Pokéball, finished. When the red lights disappeared, two little blue Pokémon with white, fin-like, large tails smiled up at May, each with their pair of little black eyes. The two Mudkip smiled and twitched the large, thin, but long, blue fin that protruded from the top of their head. Their cheeks were yellow with three sharp looking spikes jutting out of them. Their tiny bodies were almost smaller than their heads, but the same in color apart from their white stomach, which matched their tails and lower halves of their mouths. They stood on four, stubby, little blue legs; their tails flapped back and forth behind them gleefully.

"See what I mean?" Austin asked. May could only nod slowly.

"These Mudkip are actually how Lola and I met," Bailey explained.

"Bailey and I went on the same day to pick out our Pokémon, but I went about five minutes before her," Lola told May. "I chose this Mudkip, but Professor Birch suddenly told me that he had a twin. I was just deciding if I should take the other Pokémon…" She looked to Bailey expectantly.

"When I burst into the lab!" the curly haired girl cried, giggling.

"The other Mudkip automatically jumped into her arms," Lola said. "It was so weird, but Bailey and I, like, connected through our Twin Pokémon!"

"Wow," was all May could say.

"We know! Incredible, right?" both Twins shrieked in delight at the same time.

"So they decided to travel together," Ella finished.

"And we've been Twins since!" the twins stated proudly together. Smiling, Lola returned Bailey's Mudkip into Bailey's Pokéball, and Bailey returned Lola's Mudkip into Lola's Pokéball. They swapped their Pokéballs back, giggling. Then, as if they really could read each other's mind, both Twins picked up a berry off their plate and, in perfect sync, popped them into their mouths.

"Like I said," Austin repeated, "it gets pretty creepy sometimes. Other times it's just downright scary."

Both Lola and Bailey gave Austin sour looks before both turning to May. "So what are you coming to Johto for, May?" Lola asked the brunette.

"I'm coming to compete in contests."

"You're a Co-ordinator too!" the Twins both cried, once again, at the same time.

"We're all Co-ordinators," Ella explained.

"All of you?" May repeated, a little shocked. Four Co-ordinators traveling in a group? She figured at least one of them would be a Gym Battler or a Breeder like Ash or Brock.

"Yeah, and I think that was how…" Lola turned to Bailey, giving her a quizzical look.

"Oh yes," Bailey replied, nodding her head. "Most definitely how."

"_Creeeeepy_," Austin said, drawing out the "creepy" and adding a deep, eerie effect to his voice.

"Oh shut–" Bailey began.

"Up, Austin!" Lola finished.

May turned to Ella. "That _is_ getting a little weird…"

Ella giggled, but nodded. "Like Austin said, you'll get used to it." May's hand stopped in mid-air as she reached for another sandwich. These four barely knew her, and yet, here they were, talking to her like she was an old friend. It was funny how it was only the first day, and May had perhaps made the friends that she would keep for the rest of her stay in Johto…for the rest of her life even! She smiled widely as she picked up a sandwich and bit into it.

"Hey Ella," Austin piped up suddenly. "Your ranch is near Cherrygrove City, right?"

"Yeah, so what?"

"Couldn't May stay with us at your place until the contest?"

"Austin, that's a great idea!" Ella squealed, clapping her hands together quickly in joy. "Do you want to, May? Lola, Bailey, and Austin are staying the week at my place before the contest. You can stay too! It'll be so much fun! We can stay up late and have girl talk…well, girl talk plus Austin…"

"We thought Austin _was_ a girl," the Twins said jokingly.

"Ha ha, very funny," Austin rolled his eyes.

"Well, what do you say, May? Ha! Say, May! I made a rhyme!" Ella laughed lightly.

"You're amazing," Lola joked.

"The greatest poet ever," Bailey added. Ella faked a bow.

"I'd love to spend the week at your place, but will it be all right with your parents?" May popped a piece of a muffin into her mouth.

"Are you kidding? My parents absolutely love company! Sometimes, it's my mom who's planning my sleepovers and parties, not me!"

May's eyebrows rose in surprise. "Really?"

"Yeah, I met her mom when she came to watch Ella in a Hoenn Contest. She's a little weird, but really cool," Austin told her. "Of course, if you don't like working on a ranch, then I suggest you don't stay…"

"Austin!" Ella cried.

"I was only kidding," he said immediately.

"I don't mind doing a bit of work," May told Ella.

"Austin's only messing with you," Ella said. "My parents don't really make guests work. Only if they want to, that is. And all we do is take care of Pokémon that are useful to the people who live around us, like Miltank and Mareep. You know, we raise the Pokémon, like Miltank, so they can provide things for the community, like delicious Miltank milk! But Austin's never even been to my ranch before in his life so he doesn't even know what he's talking about."

"I said I was only kidding!"

Ella glared at him. "Hmph!" Then she purposely looked down at her food and began munching away again.

A sudden thought came into May's mind. "Hey Ella?"

"Mmph?" Ella responded with a mouthful of sandwich.

"If you live in Johto, why is it that you didn't compete in those contests first?"

"Iwa vismmm ssserr!" Ella said with her mouth still full.

"Um Ella? I don't think she can understand you with your mouth full…" Austin informed her.

Ella swallowed hard. "I know that…now, what I was trying to say was that I was visiting one of my sisters, Felicia, in the Hoenn region. She was married exactly one year ago, but then, six months later, she wrote to us telling her she was going to have baby! So, I've been staying there for these past six months, helping her get ready and stuff like that. To tell you the truth, she's the one that got me into contests!"

"Really?"

"Yeah, but I couldn't compete in Hoenn contests because I would have started too late. I mean, I got to compete in few, but I only won one of them. But I did get to meet the Twins in that contest, which was actually only a week after I arrived in Hoenn, and then Austin joined our group a month later. After he watched me kick both Bailey _and_ Lola's butts in one of the contests, that is. That was the only contest I won. Unfortunately after that, the Grand Festival came around and—ohmygosh! I saw you! You were in the Grand Festival!"

May winced inwardly at the bitter memory of the Hoenn Grand Festival. She had a lot to learn back then. "Yeah, I was in the festival."

"Hey, we saw you too!" Lola cried suddenly, speaking for both her and Bailey.

Bailey suddenly squealed like she had suddenly just seen the best thing in the world. "You know Drew!"

Lola squealed in delight too. "We watched you beat him in that _awesome_ Kanto Grand Festival battle!"

"That was, like, the BEST battle in contest history!" Bailey agreed.

"Thanks. But it really wasn't the best battle…" May started.

"Are you kidding?" Bailey gave her a funny look. "It was—"

"Totally incredible!" Lola finished. "But so are you, like, actually _friends_ with Drew?"

"Well…yeah…I guess you could say Drew and I are friends. Well, friendly rivals at least…" _Great_, May thought. _More fans of Drew_.

"He's so hot!" Lola said.

"Couldn't agree more, Twin!" Bailey told her twin, slapping her a high five.

"And he looked _sooooo_ fine in that battle between the two of you," Lola directed her comment back in May's direction.

"Tugged at my little heartstrings, it did…" Bailey smiled.

Lola rolled her eyes. "You are _such_ a—"

"I know," the other twin smirked.

"Hey, maybe you could introduce us to him?" Lola asked, turning back to stare at May with wide, hopeful eyes.

"Maybe…if we run into him in Johto…"

"He's going to be in the Johto region, too!" Bailey cried, pretty much doubling over in shock. A couple of onlookers from a nearby table gave her a weird glance.

"Yeah," May gave the Twins a small nod. "If we see him, I'll introduce you."

"Oh thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!" Bailey and Lola screamed together, drawing stares from the other dining guests in the room.

"Um…guys?" Austin cut in. "Could you keep the screaming down to a minimum? People are staring."

"Oh…" Lola glanced around at the people staring at them.

"Right…" Bailey added.

"Sorry," they both whispered together.

"They have an obsession with Drew," Austin told May, who had pretty much guessed that already. "He's the one who inspired them to become Co-ordinators." May had a sudden flashback of Brianna, another fan of Drew's who had become a Co-ordinator after watching him.

"He's so good…" Bailey said with a dazed expression on her face.

"Yeah…" Lola agreed with the same expression. "And, without doubt, he's definitely _the_ best Co-ordinator to look at…"

"You said it, Twin," Bailey nodded.

"Oh brother…here they go again…" Austin muttered to himself. Ella, who had using the entire conversation to shove as much food in her mouth as she could, choked as she tried to suppress her laughter. May reached over and smacked her hand lightly against the girl's back. Ella coughed a few more times before her choking finally ceased.

"Thanks May," she said. Then, just like that, she was perky again and turning to the Twins. "So what are you guys wearing to the dance tonight?"

"Oh!" both Twins exclaimed at the same time.

"We have _the_ most perfect dresses!" Bailey cried happily.

"Wait 'til you see them," Lola chimed in.

"I did some shopping myself," Ella said, smiling brightly. "And I think you'll all be jealous."

"Nuh-uh," Lola said. "You're gonna be jealous of us first, right Twin?"

"That's exactly right," Bailey agreed.

"What is it with girls and shopping and how pretty they look?" Austin muttered, but either no one heard him, or the girls just chose to ignore him.

"May, what are you…" Ella began, but stopped when she realized what she was saying. "Oh, you don't…do you?" May slowly shook her head, inferring what Ella's intention behind her semi-question had been.

"What's wrong?" Austin asked.

"I don't have a dress or anything," May said quietly. "I didn't even know there WAS a dance…"

"Oh." Bailey looked shocked.

"My." Lola matched her Twin's expression.

"Good-NESS!" they both cried together.

"Don't worry, May," Ella said quickly. "You can borrow one of my dresses. I have WAY too many for my own good!"

"Oh…um…thanks," May said lamely, not really knowing what else to say.

"This is going to be _so_ much fun!" Ella was back to her hyperactive chatterbox mode, rambling on and on. "You are going to have so much fun at the dance! They are usually a blast, at least for us…some of the other guests don't have as much fun, but that isn't the point! The point is—"

"Uh, Ella?" Austin interrupted her.

"Must you be so rude, Austin?"

"Well, _soooorry,_" he said sarcastically. "But you were rambling again."

"Oh…uh…sorry May…I, uh, I do that a lot…" Ella glanced apologetically at May.

"No, it's okay," May said quickly, reacting on instinct like she would have if it had been Ash or Max rambling. "I'm sure the dance is going to be amazing fun." She smiled at Ella and the energetic girl returned the expression.

"Well then, let's not waste any more time!" Ella cried. "Come on!" Pushing her now empty plate of food away from her, Ella grabbed May's arm and hauled her up from her chair.

May dropped her French fry in surprise. "What? Where are we going?"

"To pick out your dress, silly!"

"Oh no!" Bailey cried, pushing away her own tray and practically leaping out of her chair.

Lola stood as well. "You're gonna wait for us!"

The Twins caught up to them as Ella began dragging May away from the table. However, as they left, May swore she heard Austin mutter, "You all go ahead, I'll just sit here until you get back…"

"Eee vee eve?" Eevee cocked her head curiously at May.

May either was pretending she didn't hear Eevee, or she was ignoring the long-eared Pokémon as she fussed with her dress in front of the mirror again like she had been for the past hour. May was seriously starting to regret leaving the dining room without finishing her large array of food. Food would have calmed her anxiety about the upcoming dance. Eevee rolled her little eyes and leapt down from the stool by the mirror she had been perched on. With a little cry, she leapt up onto May's shoulder and caused the girl to look at the Pokémon, and then at herself in the mirror.

May's short, cerulean blue dress fell down just above her knees. It was a very simple, strapless, pleated dress. May had strapped silver heels onto her feet that had thin silver straps that criss-crossed the tops of her feet. And though it was not something May did often, but she had actually allowed her hair to cascade around her without any form of bandana tying it up. The only thing she had decided on wearing was a blue headband, the same color as her dress, just to pull her hair back away from her face, which would make dancing a lot easier. Around her neck, she wore a silver necklace that Ella had found. It held a single charm in the form of a star on the end, and was short enough not to even touch the neckline of her dress. Ella had also lent May some silver bangles to wear around her left wrist.

"Vee vee. Eve eee. Vee!" Eevee cried again.

"Eevee," May smiled down at the newest Pokémon to join her little family. "You really think I look nice, hmm?"

"Eevee! Vee ee eevee!"

May looked down at her feet. "I'm not even sure what it is about this dance that has me so…excited…" She had actually been wondering that exact same question when she had began slipping her thin form into the dresses Ella and the Twins had thrown at her. They had literally spent half an hour just holding up different colored dresses against May's body and deciding whether or not she would look good in them.

Then, they had to spend another hour actually trying on the dresses to see, out of what they picked, which ones fit and which ones didn't. May would have preferred just to pick a random dress, but the Twins and Ella had all insisted on selecting the perfect one. But after they had decided on the blue one she was now wearing, they had to go through the shoes as well and, with the combined closets of Ella and the Twins, there were a _lot_ of shoes to go through. The amount of dresses they had each didn't even compare to the number of shoes they each had, which was practically triple that amount.

"Eevee, vee eve." Eevee was standing on May's bed near the nightstand where the digital clock sat.

May gave a quiet shriek as she glanced at the clock. "Oh, Eevee! I didn't even notice the time! Ella's probably already waiting to get down there!" The two girls had agreed earlier to go down to the dance together, where they would meet up with the Twins and Austin, whose rooms were actually on the other side of the ferry.

Sure enough, in what seemed to May like only milliseconds later, a loud knock sounded on her door.

"Coming!" she called. "Thanks for keeping me company, Eevee." She gave her Pokémon one last smile before returning her into her Pokéball. Then, taking a deep breath and glancing at herself one last time in the mirror, she opened the door.

"Ready to…?" Ella's voice trailed off as she saw May. She suddenly squealed. "Oh May! I just _knew_ that dress would look gorgeous on you! We definitely chose the right one! Ooh! Wait until the Twins see their handiwork!"

May felt her cheeks redden; she wasn't used to the attention. "Thanks. You look great too."

"Thanks! This is going to be _so_ much fun, May! You'll have a blast!" Ella's eyes closed as she smiled a huge smile. But what May said was true. Ella did look beautiful. She wore an elegant dress of a dark red color that fell down a little bit past her knees. It was a pleated dress, like May's, with thin spaghetti straps. Her heels, like May's, were silver and almost looked the same except that, while May's criss-crossed her feet, Ella's simply had two straps; one across the ankle and one that strapped over the middle of her feet. Her gorgeous black hair cascaded down in perfect, bouncy curls that rivaled Bailey's. She must have put hot rollers in earlier or something. Only her bangs were left uncurled. Ella wore bangles similar to the ones she wore earlier around her wrist, and May noticed that she was also wearing the lightening bolt necklace again. It must really mean something to her. She made a mental note to ask Ella later about it.

"Well, we should probably get going. Now that we're going to arrive, the party can truly begin!" Ella cried. May couldn't hold back her laughter as she followed her friend down the hallway. Ella merely gave her a funny look.

"What took you guys so long?" Lola asked as she noticed May and Ella approaching. Then, she noticed their clothing. "Oh."

"My." Bailey added.

"GOSH!" they cried together.

"You guys look gorgeous!" Lola practically shrieked.

"Better than gorgeous! And May that dress TOTALLY works on you!" Bailey said, causing May to blush again.

A small smile slipped onto May's face. "Thanks."

"We told you, El," the Twins smirked, pleased in their choice of dress.

Ella stuck out her tongue at them, which just caused them to laugh.

"You two look amazing in your dresses too," May said, smiling to the Twins, who suddenly smiled back and clasped hands, striking a pose. **(A/N: OHC anyone? XD)**

"Yeah, you two look _hawt_!" Ella smiled, laughing at their pose.

"Thanks!" they chorused. As May had expected, the Twins were wearing dresses of the same style. They were short dresses, not even reaching to their knees, without any straps at all. And like always, Lola's was green and Bailey's was pink. Both Twins wore similar fishnet gloves on their arms the same color as their dresses that extended from their hands to their elbows. Their heels, which were fastened by two thin straps on each foot, were both a shiny, silver color, decorated along the straps with rhinestones similar to those on their dresses. And, like Ella, they wore their water droplet necklaces that they had been wearing earlier.

Bailey smirked suddenly as she glanced past Ella and May. "Guess who's coming, Lola?"

"Oh, I see him," Lola answered. Both May and Ella frowned before turning to see who the Twins were referring to. Approaching their little group was Austin, dressed in a loose white tuxedo top and navy dress pants.

"Wow," Bailey said, looking Austin up and down almost with a look of approval. Almost.

"I know, Twin," Lola agreed. "He actually dressed up."

"I heard that you guys," Austin said.

"It must have killed you," Bailey joked as Lola feigned suffocating.

"Ha ha ha," Austin rolled his eyes. "I swear, you two have GOT to be the most annoying people on the planet."

"Come on, you know you love us!" the Twins chorused gleefully.

"Right," Austin said, faking skepticism. He shifted his gaze to the other two girls. "Hey Ella, May. Wow. You guys look great."

"And what about us?" Bailey cried.

"You can't say something like that to them and not us!" Lola added.

"You guys were the ones making fun of me," Austin reminded them, adjusting his crimson tie.

"You know we were only joking!" the twins accused together. "And now you're not going to talk to us! You're so mean!"

Austin held up his hands in defense. "Come on, girls. I was just kidding. You guys look actually rather stunning in those dresses."

"Aww, thanks," the Twins smiled.

"Now what are we waiting for?" Ella cried suddenly.

"You're absolutely right, Ella," Austin agreed. May frowned, wondering what they were talking about.

"Let's," Bailey began suddenly.

"Get," Lola added.

"This," Austin said.

"Party," Ella smiled. Then, the four of them glanced at May.

"Started!" May finished, smiling.

"Whoo!" Both Twins cheered and began dancing and swaying to the music. May was a little hesitant, but when Ella grabbed her hands and pulled her into their little dance circle, she picked up the beat. The music flew by with the night as they talked, laughed, joked, and danced. Finally, the Twins left when a slower song came on, pulling May away saying they wanted to talk to her about her experience in the Grand Festival.

"Where are we going?" May asked them.

"Did you not just hear Bailey?" Lola asked.

"Huh?"

"We want to talk to you," Bailey answered again.

"Oh," May said, suddenly understanding. "About my Grand Festival experience?"

"Well kind of," Lola said. "But mostly, we want to talk to you about Drew."

"Oh," May answered again, feeling suddenly very awkward without a known reason as to why. "You want to talk about Drew…"

"We want to know if you two are friends," Bailey told her.

"Well, yeah," May said carefully. "Like I said earlier, Drew and I are friends…along with being rivals, that is."

"Nothing more?" Lola asked with suspicious eyes.

"What?"

"You and Drew," Bailey clarified. "You two are _just_ friends?"

"Yes," May said warily. "Why?"

"Just wondering," the Twins said, smiling again. "That's all we wanted to know." They turned around to walk back to Austin and Ella.

"Oh, Twins!" May cried suddenly, remembering something she had wanted to ask them.

"What's up?" they both asked, turning.

"I just wanted to know where you guys were from."

"You mean like what city?" Lola asked.

"Or what region?" Bailey finished.

"Both," May answered.

"Well, in that case," Bailey said, "we're from the Hoenn region, obviously. But I'm from Mossdeep City."

"And I'm from Lavaridge Town," Lola added.

"Wow," May muttered to herself as the Twins started walking back to rejoin Austin and Ella. "Fire and water…no kidding…"

"And in case you're wondering," Bailey turned back towards her. "Austin's from that small place…what was the name again…? Oh! Littleroot Town, that's it!" May frowned. That wasn't too far away from Petalburg…

"Something wrong?" Lola asked her.

"Oh, no," May said quickly. "I was thinking about how close Littleroot Town is to Petalburg City."

"Petalburg…" Bailey's voice trailed off and she frowned. May could tell that she was trying to determine exactly what Petalburg City's relation was to the current conversation. Then, realization hit her and her mouth flew open. "Oh, right! Petalburg! That's where you're from, isn't it?"

May nodded. Then, the current song ended, replaced by another faster song.

"Ooh, Twin!" Bailey cried.

"We absolutely love this song!" Lola added. "C'mon!" The two ran quickly toward Ella and Austin, dragging Austin out to the center of the dance floor. Ella watched them for a minute, laughing softly, before she joined May.

"I'm a little winded," Ella said. "I think I'll sit this one out." She sat down at one of the tables. May joined her.

"What did the Twins ask you about your Grand Festival experiences?" Ella asked. "Can you tell me about them? It must be great to be able to compete in the Grand Festival…"

"Well, uh, they just wanted to know a few things…" May said uncomfortably, not really sure she wanted to share the conversation about Drew she and the Twins had with Ella. Thankfully, she didn't have to because before she could say anything else, or before Ella could ask any more questions, someone cleared their throat in front of them. May and Ella both looked up to see a boy their age standing in front of their table.

"Can we help you?" May asked.

"You're May from Petalburg City, aren't you?" May ignored Ella's shocked expression that the guy knew her, even though she was shocked as well.

"Yes," she answered warily.

"I…uh…I saw you in the Hoenn Grand Festival…and the Kanto one too…and I, uh, thought you were really, really good…So I just…um…I just wanted to meet you…in person, that is." The boy tried to cover his nervous stuttering with a smile.

"Oh," May said lamely, trying to recognize the boy. He didn't say he had been in the Grand Festival himself and May definitely didn't recognize his face. But now that she was actually looking at him, she couldn't help but noticed that he was actually kind of cute. His hair was short and blonde, streaked with a few browner strands here and there, and he had the most gorgeous sapphire eyes she had ever seen. They seemed to almost sparkle like the gem; May could hardly take her eyes off them. Not to mention he looked really good in the light orange tux shirt he was wearing, and his blue tie made his eyes stand out even more.

"I wasn't in the Grand Festivals," the boy said, anticipating why she was staring hard at him.

"I figured," she answered. "I didn't recognize you."

"But I am a Co-ordinator," he told her.

"Really?" May couldn't help but be surprised. It seemed like almost everyone aboard this ferry was a Co-ordinator…

"Yep," he smiled warmly. "My name's Troy and I've been a Co-ordinator for about two years now."

May shook his outstretched hand. "It's nice to meet you. But how come you weren't in the Grand Festival?"

"I was competing at Kanto but I didn't get my five ribbons. And I probably could have competed in the Hoenn Grand Festival, but when I learned that my Butterfree was pregnant, I decided to skip the Festival."

"Aww, you're Butterfree's going to have little Caterpies!"

"Correction: had."

"That is so cute!" May couldn't help the smile that appeared on her face.

"I'm just going to get a drink," Ella said quickly. "Be back in a flash." May could have sworn she saw a smirk on her face as she left.

"Anyway," the boy continued when Ella had disappeared into the crowd. "I just came over here to meet you. Like I said, I saw you in the festivals and I think you're a really good Co-ordinator."

"Oh, thanks."

"You're competing in Johto, right?"

May nodded. "Yep."

"Well then, I guess I'll see you around. I'm competing too, you know. Who knows, May? Maybe we'll have a chance at battling one another in a contest or something like that in Johto."

"That would be great," May answered truthfully.

The boy smiled. "Okay then. I'll see you later."

"Bye Troy," May shook his hand again. "It was nice to meet you!"

"Same here." With that, he nodded once before turning and walking off. May sighed to herself as she watched him go until he had fully passed out of sight, disappearing into the dancing crowd.

Of course, there always had to be someone to ruin the moment. "Made new friends, have we, May dearie?"

May leapt out of her chair and whipped around to see a tall figure emerge from the shadows. The figure was dressed in a suit that resembled a Cacturne (complete with a hat that looked like a Cacturne's top). May instantly recognized the long purple, slightly wavy hair hanging out from beneath the green cap. Her eyes widened and her mouth dropped open in utter shock. "H-Harley!"

* * *

**Ooh! Wonder how this is gonna play out...hmm...haha! But you have NO idea how fun it was to write about the Twins' obsession with Drew! XD It's hilarious in my opinion! By the way, golden apple to whoever can tell me where I kinda based my idea of those two off of (aka where I got the idea...)! ^,^ I liked it so much I just HAD to try writing my own duo! Haha!**

**Anyway, some quick notes:**

*** I really have no idea where the heck Pokesheek came from...randomly came into my head when writing this because I got tired of writing characters with just blank shirts. So, like our ridiculous clothing stores these days (Aeropostale, Hollister, and all that crap) I decided that the world of Pokemon should have some kind of clothing store along those lines as well. So, that's the backstory where that came from. Why am I explaining this? I really don't know...maybe to alieviate my conscience? *shrugs* Or maybe it's just because I can...ehh...**

**** I don't know. I'm just making crap up as I go. Pokemon have to multiply somehow now, don't they? Hah!**

**Well, that's really all I got for now. Questions? Comments? Genuine (or not) concerns? Review and recieve apples! 'Cause everyone knows apples keep away doctors! XD**

**- Lex**

**~Nozomi!~**


	3. Zombie May

**Hey everybody! Back again! Late Merry Christmas to all! And to all a good last few days of the year! XD**

**And here comes New Years! ^_^ **

**Well, here's my present to all of you! Another chapter in this story! You know, I actually quite like where this is going! And I DO promise that the story's characters shall make more appearances once May has actually entered the Johto region! Right now, she's just getting acquainted with those whom she will be journeying with through the region! And I dunno, Ella, Austin, Bailey, and Lola are growing on me! I hope they grow on you guys too!**

**So, without furter adieu, here's the next tidbit!**

**Misty: And Lexi still doesn't own Pokemon! Not even in her dreams!**

**Me: Hey!**

* * *

**Chapter 3: Zombie May**

"Well, it's nice to see you again, too, hun." Harley made a face like he had been heavily insulted.

"Er…sorry Harley…it's just that…I…uhh…I thought that you had left for Johto last week."

"I was held up," Harley said simply with a wave of his hand, as if to put that matter aside like it was insignificant. Even though May was wearing her considerably-high heels, Harley was still quite a bit taller than her. Suddenly she felt very small. "But now things around here can certainly pick up the pace, huh?"

"Right…" May frowned, a sudden thought appearing in her head. "Hey, why were you spying on me?"

"Oh, hun," Harley laughed his usual, way-too-feminine laugh. "I simply happened to be passing by when I saw you talking with your boyfriend there."

May frowned. "He's not—"

"Speaking of boys," he cut her off, "where's your little rival off to these days? I don't see him around."

"He left before I did, on the same day as you," she recalled, surprised to hear a slight sad tone in her voice. A thin frown formed across her lips, though she tried hard to keep Harley from noticing.

Which was apparently not enough as he broke into laughter, causing her frown to deepen. "You are just too funny sometimes, hun."

"Hey," May said, placing her hands on her hips. "Why are you even here talking to me? I thought you hated me for kicking your butt in the Kanto Grand Festival? And the other contests we've been in."

Though the comment snapped him out of his laughter, it didn't appear enough to upset him. Instead, Harley merely waved his hand again, a smirk forming across his face. "Darling, that was Kanto," he told her. "This, ahead of us, is Johto. And I think we both know it will be _me_ who will become victorious. And not you, Drew, or even your new little blonde friend will stop me! Haha!"

"Hey! The contests haven't even started yet!" May cried. "How can you be so sure already? I'm a lot stronger than I was before and I'm getting stronger all the time! How do you know you'll come close to even facing off against me?"

Harley laughed again. "Don't you worry yourself, hun. We'll get the chance to battle against one another, and you'll get the chance to lose to me. Perhaps I'll see to go easy on you, but…most likely not. If you think you need it, though, you can feel free to beg for it later. After all, you haven't been the _only_ one thinking they're getting stronger, but we both know your lowly confidence will be no match for my pure finesse in the competition to come."

Before May could tell Harley what exactly he could do with his "pure finesse," another voice chimed in from behind her. "Okay, May! I'm back!"

Ella was approaching the table with two glasses of punch in her hands. She frowned when she saw Harley, obviously a little freaked about his clothing choice. Actually, she could be freaked out about everything that had to do with him. "Um…hello…May, is…uh…this a friend of yours?" Yep, she was definitely questioning him.

"Oh, um," May faltered, not really wishing to introduce Ella to Harley, especially after their conversation. "This is Harley. He's actually a rival Co-ordinator."

"Well, it's nice to…uh…meet you?" Ella frowned again as she handed May a glass of red liquid that looked like some kind of punch drink.

With a smile that was way too Harley-ish for May's comfort, he waved at May and began walking away. "Well, bye May. See you later in Johto!"

"How rude!" Ella cried when he was gone, outrage suddenly mudding her previously serene expression. "He didn't even ask my name or how you knew me! That is the rudest! Honestly May, if that's the kind of people you hang around with—"

"Don't worry," May cut it. "Harley isn't exactly the nicest of people. And I don't 'hang around' with him. He's…well…he just likes to try to beat me in contests and make me loose. He actually tried to sabotage me a few times."

"No way!" Ella gasped. "Really? The nerve! Who would want to sabotage someone just so they could win a contest? Now that's just low! If I see him again, I swear to Ho-Oh, I'll kick his butt SO bad! No! WE can kick his butt! Right, May?"

"Right," May agreed, finding a smile weaving its way across her lips.

Ella smiled as well. "Now I'm glad he didn't stay around to be introduced to me. I don't think I want to get to know him now."

May couldn't help laughing at the look on Ella's face as she crossed her arms in a huff. Ella gave her a funny look before laughing herself. She just wasn't the type to hear someone laugh without bursting into a fit herself.

Suddenly, she stopped, choosing the moment to give May a quizzical frown instead. "So, why was he dressed like a Cacturne?"

"He has a Cacturne, but other than that, I have no idea." May answered, laughter ceasing. She really had never thought about that much, but now the concept seemed more and more ridiculous the longer she thought about it.

Ella cocked her head, as if she was in deep thought about something. "Do you think I'd look cute as a Mareep?"

There was a brief pause as May's eyebrows rose in question. Then, the two girls burst into more giggles.

May smirked. "Yeah, and I'll dress as a Blaziken and grow a little bushy tail!"

"Yeah!" Ella cried in mock excitement. Then, the two found themselves bursting into another wave of laughter.

When Ella finally ceased her hysterics, she glanced behind her at the doorway Harley had disappeared through, as if making sure he hadn't come back. Then, she simply shrugged. "Oh well. Hopefully, we won't run in to him much in Johto…anyway, the real question here is: how did it go?"

May frowned in confusion, her laughter dying off as well. "Huh?" She took a sip of her punch, her throat feeling a little dry. It was definitely a fruit punch flavor she tasted, and she ultimately decided it wasn't bad at all. "What are you talking about?"

"You…and Troy…"

"What about him?"

"Well, what _happened_ while I was gone?"

"We talked," May said, watching Ella with a suspicious glare. "What should have happened?"

"Well…" Ella chewed on her lower lip before continuing very quickly. "Come on, May! It's obvious that he likes you!"

May had made the mistake of taking another sip of her punch as Ella spoke, and suddenly, the red liquid sprayed from her mouth. She coughed and spluttered, choking on the punch, as Ella looked down at the now red splotched tablecloth. Then, she looked back up at the now gagging May.

"Are you okay?" Ella asked, concern on her face, as May finally ceased her large coughing fit. Instead, she was left gasping for breath.

"Yeah," she managed. "I was just a bit surprised, that's all."

"Obviously," Ella lower lip disappeared from view again. "Don't know what I'm going to tell my uncle…"

"Sorry," May said apologetically.

"No worries," Ella waved it off with her hand. "I always told him he was stupid for serving red liquid on white tablecloths, but he never listened. So, this is what he gets…but stop changing the subject! Answer my question." Her smile turned devious.

"You never asked a question…" May pointed out.

Ella's head cocked as she struggled to remember. "You're right, I didn't…" She shrugged and smiled. "Then I'll just ask it now! Do you like Troy?"

"Ella! I just met him!" May protested. "And he just met me! So how in the world am I supposed to know if I like him or if likes me? I don't even know him! And Troy doesn't know me!"

Ella opened her mouth to say something, but a chorus of voices from behind May cut into the conversation.

"Ooh! Who's Troy?" The Twins were approaching their table with a worn-out Austin trailing along behind them.

"Nothing," May said automatically.

Ella's smile widened. "This incredible cutie who knew May." May groaned inwardly, wishing Ella had just kept her mouth shut.

"No way!" Bailey cried.

"How does he know you?" Lola asked, her face full of intrigue at this latest gossip.

"He doesn't," May began, knowing there was no way out of this now. "All he did was watch my performances in the Hoenn and Kanto Grand Festivals."

"He said she was good. _Really_ good." Ella emphasized the "really".

Both Twins raised their eyebrows slightly.

"So what?" Austin piped up.

"Hey! Bunt out, Austin!" Lola cried.

"Yeah, this is the _girl_ talk part!" Bailey agreed.

"Hey!" Austin held up his hands in defense. "All I'm saying is that the guy said May was a good coordinator. And how many other guys have told you that, May?"

_Drew told me that_…The thought came to May's mind before she had even realized what she was thinking. It took her completely by surprise and she did a brief double take. What an odd thing to think at this moment… "Ah…I've had…boys tell me that…before now, I mean…"

"See?" Austin shook his head and grabbed Ella's punch glass. "Saying that someone is good at battling doesn't mean that you like them."

"Hey!" Ella cried as he drank the rest of her punch. "I was gonna drink that! Why can't you go get your own?" He shrugged as he handed her the empty glass. "Aw, now I'm gonna have to get more…" She frowned.

"Whatever Austin," Lola said before Ella could complain any more. Then, she turned back to May. "But what did Troy want?"

"Yeah," Bailey chimed in, "what did he talk to you about?"

"He just wanted to meet me," May said.

"You guys continue the talking," Ella interrupted. "I'm gonna go get some more punch…"

"One for me too," Austin said, a slight smirk on his face. "Please?" he added when she frowned.

"You are so aggravating!" As she walked off, Ella reached out with her free hand and ruffled Austin's hair.

"Ah, great!" Austin called sarcastically to her backside. "Now you've messed it up." May suppressed a laugh as she saw that a considerable chunk of his hair was hanging in front of his face. The Twins, however, didn't hold their chuckles at how hilarious he looked. Soon, it became impossible for May to hold back hers as well and she burst into a fit of giggles. Austin sighed and waited for them to stop. When they didn't, he shook his head, brought a hand up to his face…_and flicked his hair out of his eyes_! May immediately stopped laughing. Her smile shrank away until it was replaced by wide eyes and she felt her mouth open a little in shock. Had Austin really just flicked his hair? The memories drifted through May's brain, the many times _he_ had flicked his hair, her annoyance by it, his overconfident smirk that always followed it…

"Uh, May, are you all right?" Austin asked, waving a hand in her face.

"Hey May! Are you still with us?" Bailey asked.

"Are you in there?" Lola added jokingly.

"What? Huh?"

"You, like, totally spaced out on us!" the Twins informed her. However, she already knew that.

"Oh…right…yeah, I'm okay! I'm fine!" Her smile was completely fake, but May didn't feel like describing her sudden spasm to any of them. She barely understood it, if at all, herself. "Just remembered something that I totally forgot about is all…"

"What's that?" the Twins chorused.

"Uh…" Crap. She hadn't gotten that far yet in coming up with an excuse. "I left Eevee out of her Pokéball and I probably should go check on her," she lied. Yeah, that was good enough.

"Oh," the Twins frowned.

"Will you be—" Bailey started.

"Coming back?" Lola finished.

"You know," May faked a yawn. "I'm kind of tired. I've had a long day. You know, with meeting you guys and getting settled in my cabin…stuff like that. So, no, I don't think I'm going to be coming back down." She started to turn towards the doorway. "But, please, stay and enjoy your time! Don't worry about me!" she added quickly. She didn't want her newfound friends to spoil their fun worrying about her when she was fine. Well, she wasn't exactly fine, but since she didn't even know why she was suddenly feeling so freaked, she didn't want her friends to waste their time on her.

_I just need some alone time_, she told herself. _Everything will be fine after I get a good night's sleep. I'm just tired and it's definitely showing…_

_Why is it bothering me so much?_ May thought as she lay awake, stretched out on her bed. It had taken the better part of an hour to change out of her borrowed dress and wipe the make-up off her face. The dance had just about ended and Ella was in her room, so May had, while dressed in her pajamas, gone next door to return the dress. Ella had answered her first knock on the door.

"Hi May," she had said. "Are you…okay?"

"Oh, yeah," May had reassured her. "I'm perfectly fine! I just came to return the dress. Thanks for letting me borrow it."

"No problem," Ella had smiled for a brief moment as she took the dress from May, but then her face had been converted with worry again. "Are you sure you're all right, May? The Twins said you were acting strange before you left. But I wasn't there so I wouldn't know so maybe they were just messing with me…"

"Don't worry, Ella," May had given her a reassuring smile before she could continue in her chatterbox mode. "I'm fine. In fact, I couldn't be better." Which had been, of course, a complete and utter lie.

"Okay then," Ella still had seemed uncertain. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow morning then…good night."

"Good night, Ella," May had left then and headed back to her room. After that, she had flopped down on her bed and that was where she was planted now, lost in her deep thought.

"Why am I letting this get to me like this?" she repeated to herself in a tight whisper, staring up at the ceiling. Her mind was racing again, various thoughts and memories again floating about in her head, reminding her of all her past adventures.

Finally frustrated, she flopped onto her stomach, face planted into her pillow as she tried to think about something else. "All Austin did was brush his hair out of his eyes!" she said into her pillow.

_No,_ the darker side of her conscience told her. _He _flicked_ his hair out of his face!_

_So _what_? _May argued. _Why should that bother me?_

_Because you're thinking of a certain someone, and you've always associated _that_ action with _that_ someone…_! May figured that, had her darker side been an actual person, it would have most definitely been snickering at her.

"Ugh!" May groaned, turning her head away from the suffocation of her pillow. "Look at me! I'm arguing with myself!" With one last sigh, May tried to shut down her mind and drift into the world of dreamland, but sleep just wouldn't come. Groaning again, she closed her eyes, preparing herself for a long, restless night.

"Oh May," Ella cried as May shuffled toward their table in the dining hall. "No offense, but you look horrible."

"None taken," May mumbled sleepily in reply. "I had a rough night." She sat down between Ella and Bailey and her head drooped against the table. She had been up late and even after she _had_ fallen asleep, it wasn't very pleasant. She figured she had been tossing and turning until the morning light. Her hair was proof enough of that; she had spent half an hour untangling the mess! And it was all because of a simple _flick_ that she was in this mess to begin with.

May picked her head back up when she heard a duo of voices speaking in her direction. "Oh my god, was it the rocking of the ship?" The Twins gave her a look of sympathy. And May nodded, even though their guess was way off. She had been on ferries multiple times already. She was beyond being bothered by the rocking. But she might as well not worry them about the real reason, but instead give them an answer that would actually make sense to them. How were they supposed to understand what went on in her head when even she couldn't?

"We totally understand," they said, shaking their heads in perfect unison. "Happened to us the first time on these boats…and it kind of still does…"

"Yeah," May repeated, about to rest her head back down again. Maybe now that it was daytime, her mind would let her sleep…

"Here, May." She hadn't even noticed Ella had gotten up and returned with a full tray of food. "You'll feel loads better when you've eaten something."

"Thanks," May mumbled, lifting her head and biting into a piece of toast.

"You look like you've had the worst night of your life," Austin commented with a slight wince, but May could tell he wasn't trying to be mean.

"Was it really just the rocking?" Ella asked. "Because you seemed just fine earlier yesterday…"

"I guess sleeping is just another matter," May said automatically. But then she sighed. "Maybe that wasn't all of it…maybe I just had too much on my mind…"

Austin nodded, brow furrowed in understanding. "I have nights like those…"

"Ugh!" Ella cried. "Me too! I get those nights all the time! I _hate_ them!"

"Don't know anyone who would like them," Lola agreed, turning to Bailey. "What do you think, Twin?"

"Most definitely don't know anyone…"

Lola suddenly frowned. "Except for maybe that one freaky kid we met…" May tuned out the rest of the conversation as thoughts roamed freely in her mind.

_I am so silly!_ She told herself. _I let something as simple as Austin flicking his hair out of his face get to me and keep me up all night. It doesn't even matter to me that much now that I think about it…I can't believe I let it surprise me so much! _

_Or maybe there was another reason…_ her darker side twisted through her thoughts again.

_No, that's silly! _May mentally shook her head. _There is no other reason except that I was just surprised by what Austin did. I just thought that flicking the hair was a Drew thing and a Drew thing only. That another guy would do that was completely beyond comprehension for me. Now, I'm fine because I know the truth. I should have realized this first._

_Or maybe…_

_No! Stop! I didn't know the exact reason before, but I am _sure_ that the reason is simply that I was surprised. Now stop thinking like that, May_, she ordered herself, still a little freaked that she was having an argument with conscience in the first place.

"Um…May?" Ella's voice brought her crashing back to reality.

"Huh? What?"

"Uh, she was just asking you if you were okay," Bailey informed her. "You were spacing out again." Worry was not only showing on her face, but on Austin's, Lola's, and Ella's too. May groaned inwardly. She hated having her new friends worry like this. Even when she was still traveling with Ash and Brock, she despised worrying anyone who was close to her, especially Max.

"Oh, uh, I guess I'm just still tired is all," she said quickly. Unlike the night before, she didn't have to fake her yawn.

"Right," Lola said. "You never did tell us _what_ you were thinking about that kept you up. What was it?"

"Uh…" May took a huge bite of a sausage link so that she would be allowed more time to come up with an answer to the question. "I guess I'm just…uh…excited…or maybe nervous…for the contests, is all. Cherrygrove City can't be that far away now right?"

"May, you had better hope that we don't arrive while you have those enormous bags under your eyes," Bailey said with a frown, but May could tell she, like Austin had been earlier, was only trying to say the truth nicely so as to not upset May. "I think we should do something about it…"

"Well," Ella said suddenly. "Here's a little bit of good news, I suppose…my uncle told me we'll be arriving in Cherrygrove City tomorrow morning."

"How is that good news?" Austin asked, frowning. "We were supposed to arrive there tonight."

"I know, but apparently, we ran into some tough weather last night that slowed down travel a little. Maybe that's what kept you up, May…but anyway, instead of arriving tonight, as was planned, they figured that it would take a little extra time to get the ship back on track. Thankfully, we were lucky enough to get some good weather today and my uncle figures that now it will only take us until tomorrow morning to arrive in Cherrygrove City. Hehe…" Ella smiled apologetically. "But look on the bright side," she added quickly. "At least May can have a good night sleep tonight before we reach the city."

"I suppose that's a good thing," May said, finishing off the mountain of eggs Ella had spooned onto her place.

"Sheesh," the Twins said together, startling May. She looked up and frowned at the Twins, who both wore surprised looks.

"How in the world can you and Ella eat so much?" Bailey asked, changing her expression to a slight frown.

"And even when you're tired…" Lola shook her head.

"No offense, of course," they both added.

May just shrugged, not in the slightest bit offended. "Again, none taken. I guess I've just always have had a huge appetite. And I'm guessing it's never going to change no matter how much I would like it to sometimes." She gave the Twins a little smile.

"And you girls know me well enough," Ella said to them. "You know I can eat almost anything."

"True," Lola agreed. Bailey nodded in head.

"I guess Ella and I are similar in the manner," May said, giving her new friends a small smile.

"Oh, May," Bailey whined suddenly.

"Can you please let us put some make-up on you?" Lola pleaded.

"Huh? Why?"

"Because you look like a zombie!" the Twins cried.

"They are kind of right," Ella said quietly. "You do have those gigantic bags under your eyes.

May sighed. "Anyone have a mirror?" Bailey held up one finger and dug around in a pink bag she was carrying.

"Here it is!" She handed May a small, circular pocket mirror. Flipping it open, May stifled a groan. The Twins were right; she _did_ look like a zombie. Good gracious, even her bags had bags under them!

"All right," she told the Twins after a moment. "I suppose I do need to cover this up…" The Twins squealed in joy and slapped a high-five.

"When you're finished with your breakfast," Bailey began.

"Which might take a while," Lola added with a small laugh, and May couldn't help laughing along with her.

"You can come to our room."

"And we'll work some magic!" Lola finished, waving her hands around as she said the word "magic."

"Thanks," May said as she reached for an apple.

"And Ella," the Twins added. "You're welcome to come, too."

"Yay!" Ella smiled and clapped her hands together.

"And what am I supposed to do while you're doing you're little freakish make-over thing?" Austin asked the Twins.

They merely shrugged. "If you're jealous, we can do your hair…"

"Yeah, right," Austin said sarcastically, rolling his eyes. "I'll pass, but just make sure you guys don't take all day up there, okay? I want to do a little R and R on this ferry before we reach Cherrygrove City, and I was thinking the pool would be an excellent place to spend the day. So are you girls going to take forever? Or are you going to be done in time to meet me down there? Because if you're not, I'll just hang by myself."

May frowned. "But why would I let them do my make-up if I was just going to go in the pool?"

"Oh May," the Twins laughed. "Poor, silly May."

"Just because you go down to the pool doesn't mean you have to swim," Bailey smiled. "Right, Twin?"

Lola nodded. "And we've found that ferries give you the best time to soak up some major sun!"

Austin sighed, rolling his eyes. "Whatever. Just answer the question. Are you going to be down by the pool BEFORE it closes?"

"Austin," the Twins shook their heads, "you have a lot to learn. Rule number one: you can't rush beauty."

"I thought it was 'you can't rush _art_…'" Austin glowered.

"Oh, but don't you know? Beauty IS art!" the Twins laughed.

"Okay, Twins!" May cried. "This is getting ridiculous!" With her left hand, she reached down and picked up the wet washcloth off the counter of the bathroom in the Twins' room. Then, before the Twins could stop her, she rubbed the cloth hard on her face, wiping the eye make-up off.

"No May!" Bailey cried.

"What are you doing?" Lola shrieked.

"Aw, May!" Ella protested.

"No," May said firmly again. "This is taking too long. I'm sorry, but I'm with Austin on this one. We _all_ probably need to get a little R and R on this ferry and we're not going to do it by trying to make me not look like a zombie down here."

"B-but—"

"No!" May cut off the Twins' protesting. "The pool is open and I think we should all change into our bathing suits and get some relaxation that we need. You girls probably know how stressful contests can be, so I don't even know why you're arguing with me!" May was beyond the point of being reasoned with. After sitting in front of the mirror for half and hour and letting the Twins trying to work their "magic," she had decided she never wanted to see any make-up again…or at least for a very long time!

Ella sighed. "May's right…"

"Huh?" Both Twins appeared shocked that Ella had given in so easily. "Ella! We thought you were on our side!"

"I'm on no one's side!" Ella told them. "But I do know that May's right about contests being stressful. And I think we should listen to her and get some R and R before we arrive in Cherrygrove. Not only that, but I'm pretty sure we'll be stressing about our first contest as SOON as we arrive."

The Twins sighed in defeat. "All right…fine…we'll go change and meet you down by the pool."

"I think you guys will like some relaxation," May told them as she left their little bathroom.

"It's better to listen to her right now anyway," May heard Ella say to the Twins as she was leaving. "She's in one of those I-Didn't-Get-Enough-Sleep-So-I'm-Really-Cranky moods and we all know how bad those can get…" There was a pause and May figured they were all focusing on some distant memory. But May didn't care. She didn't even care that they were talking about her and saying how cranky she was. It was true so she really couldn't do anything about it anyway. Except relax, which is something she DID currently need; she might even wake up a little in the process.

"Yeah, I suppose you're right," Bailey said. "Well, actually, _we_ suppose you're right, Ella. Isn't that correct, Twin?"

"Most correct," Lola said.

"Then I guess I'll meet you guys down at the pool," Ella said. "But I'll probably wait for May and then we'll meet you down there…"

"Yeah, okay, we'll meet you down there then," Lola's voice wafted through the room to May as she opened the door to leave. "Austin's probably already down there waiting for us anyway…"

"Took you guys long enough," the brown-haired boy said when he saw May and Ella making their way towards him. Remarkably, the pool wasn't that crowded, even though it was a beautifully warm day at sea. Austin was taking full advantage of the relaxation. He was stretched out on a white lounge chair wearing only a pair of bright orange swim shorts.

"Wow," Ella commented as they approached him. "Those are some bright shorts…" She feigned shielding her eyes.

Austin rolled his eyes. "Pull up a chair. There're plenty of sun rays for the three of us." He smirked and pulled his hands back behind his head, closing his eyes.

Ella stared at Austin and then out at the crystal-clear pool. "Are you kidding me? I'm going into the water!" Smiling, she threw her towel, which just _happened_ to land on Austin's head, and ran towards the edge of the pool. She stopped there, motioning with her left arm for May to join her. May thought about hanging with Austin, who was now pulling Ella's tickle-me-pink colored towel off his head and throwing it onto the lounge chair next to him, but decided better of it. With a slight arm movement, her towel landed on an empty chair next to Ella's, and she was running across the deck to join the black-haired, energetic girl at the pool's edge.

"Nice choice," Ella said as May approached her. Ella was dressed in a vibrant red (red and pink seemed to be her favorite colors…) bikini that fit her small form perfectly. She had left her matching red flip-flops near the lounge chairs. "We'll jump in on the count of three, okay?" She smiled eagerly.

"Got it," May nodded. She was wearing her new baby blue bikini that her mother had actually purchased for her as a parting gift before May left for Johto. She, too, had left her black flip-flops near the chairs.

"One…" Ella began.

"Two…" May counted down.

"Three!" they cried together and they jumped off the edge. With shrieks of joy, the two girls hit the water and the familiar sensation washed around May's body. It felt so good to be swimming after all the stress she'd been having lately. Not to mention it was doing wonders on her lack of sleep problem. The cool water had almost completely washed away that feeling. Laughing, May poked her head up from the water and saw Ella floating calmly on her back.

"This feels so good!" Ella cooed.

"I know what you mean…" May agreed, lying back and letting the water carry her as well. She closed her eyes in relaxation.

"Cannonball!" a male voice suddenly shouted. May's eyes snapped open just in time to see Austin land in the water between her and Ella. Enormous waves enveloped the two girls and water sprayed everywhere in thick streams. May shrieked in surprise. Her shriek was matched by Ella's.

"Austin, you…!" Ella screamed when his head popped up. She splashed water at his face, but he easily swam to the side.

"I got you good, huh?"

"Shut up!" Ella dove under the water without another word. May gave Austin a did-you-have-to-do-that look but he merely shrugged. Suddenly, with a surprised cry, Austin disappeared beneath the waves and Ella's head popped up, giggling. A few seconds later, the Twins' smiling faces poked up from beneath the waves. Austin's head came up milliseconds later.

"That," Austin told the two, "was not cool."

"No, it was fun," they said.

"Nice job, you two," Ella congratulated them. "I'm surprised you didn't hear them," she said to Austin.

"You told them to do that, didn't you?" Austin said with a frown on his face, but it was the kind of frown that said he was completely joking instead of actually being angry with Ella or the Twins.

"Who? Me?" Ella faked a surprised look. "Would I really do such a thing?"

"Yes," May, the Twins, and Austin all said at the same time. Ella fell in to another fit of giggles.

"Come on," she said to Austin when she had calmed down a bit. "You know you had it coming."

"Whatever," Austin said, swimming toward the side of the pool.

"Austin!" Ella called after him, frowning now. "You know we were only kidding…Austin!" Either Austin didn't hear her, or he refused to listen to her. Instead, he climbed out the side of the pool without using the ladder and headed towards his chair in a huff.

"I think you've offended him," May said to Ella.

Ella turned her frown towards them. "I was only kidding. I didn't think he would take it that seriously…"

"It's Austin," Lola cut in. "You can't predict what he'll do."

"Psyche!" Austin's voice shouted to them, followed by a huge splash as Austin hit the water again.

"You jerk!" the Twins cried jokingly as the waves hit them.

"You completely had us going!" Bailey flicked her hand and splashed a few droplets of water at him.

"We actually felt sorry for you!" Lola cried. "Well, for a minute at least! But don't worry!"

"The feeling's gone now!" the two girls finished together.

"Come on," Austin said in a poor imitation of Ella's voice. "You know you had it coming."

"I do _not_ sound like that!" Ella cried.

"Don't worry, El," Lola told her. "That was an extremely poor imitation on Austin's part."

"Man, you guys all love picking on me today! Except for May!" He threw a pointed glance at her. "She's the only one cutting me some slack. That's it! From now on, she's my best friend."

"That's just because she doesn't know you well enough to make fun of you yet," Ella giggled. "Just wait until she's on OUR side!"

Austin turned his back to the others and swam over to May. "So new best friend, I can honestly say you are looking a lot more alive than this morning. The bags under your eyes aren't nearly as dark…"

"Well, thanks, I think…" May responded.

Austin smirked, keeping up the gentleman approach. "And I must thank you for not insulting me as the other lowlifes are doing around here…"

The Twins huffed. "Well these 'lowlifes' happen to have quite a lot of fun picking on you since you're the only guy."

"Well I can't control my sex, you know! Not _my_ fault I was born a boy."

"Blame biology for your birth, but _not_ for choosing us as friends," Ella countered.

Shaking his head, Austin dove under water muttering something that sounded to May like "so cruel…"

With a devious smile, Lola and Bailey exchanged glances.

"Everybody get ready," Bailey said.

"When he comes back up, splash him to death!" Lola squealed in excitement.

May and Ella nodded. Then, the four of them waited patiently for Austin's head to poke back out of the water.

"Now!" Lola and Bailey cried as he appeared again.

"What the…?" Austin shouted as the four of them began to splash him like there was no tomorrow.

"Splash fight!" Ella shrieked. With that, the five of them began splashing each other until they were completely worn out. Then, they decided on just lying on their backs and letting the water hold them afloat.

"Hey," May said as she felt something brush against he back underneath the water. "Ella, stop it!"

"Huh?" Ella replied from a little ways away. "I'm not doing anything…"

May sighed. "Austin, if that's you, cut it out!"

"I'm way over here! I'm not even near you!" Austin's voice called to her from across the pool.

"Okay, Twins," May said as she felt something poking her back again. "Give it up already!"

"What are you talking about?" the Twins both answered with confused tones.

May frowned. "If it isn't Ella, Austin, or you two, then who keeps touching my back?" She opened her eyes and saw two large black eyes staring at her with a curious expression. She shrieked in surprise and stood up in the water.

"Poli!" the Pokémon that had been poking her called out in surprise as well. It quickly backed away from May using its two pale blue feet to propel its spherical body. Its white stomach had a swirled black line spiraling on it, creating a strange circular design. The Pokémon had a white, paddle-shaped tail with a thin pale blue line the color of its body splashing in the water behind it and its pink lips quivered for a moment as it stared at May with a scared expression.

"Poliwag!" a voice called from the side of the pool.

May turned to see a familiar blonde haired boy in royal blue swim trunks standing near the pool. "Troy!" She swam towards the edge of the pool near where he was standing.

"Hi May!" Troy greeted her with a smile.

"Is this Poliwag yours?"

"Yeah," Troy said, frowning slightly. "But he's way too curious for his own good. One minute he was relaxing near the lounge chairs, then the next, he was gone. I've been looking for him for a good ten minutes now. He didn't cause any trouble, did he?"

"No," May said immediately, thinking about her over curious Squirtle. "I guess his curiosity was just getting the better of him." She couldn't help smiling.

"Poli wag wag?" Poliwag pulled himself out of the pool (**A/N: Dunno how it would do that WITHOUT arms…**) to stand next to Troy, putting on an innocent face.

"I guess you didn't do anything wrong," Troy said, smiling. "But you had me completely worried about you. What were you doing?"

"Poli! Pol poli! Poli!" Poliwag cried.

"Playing how?" Troy asked, frowning slightly again. Poliwag seemed too ashamed to answer.

"He was just poking me is all," May said with a smile, patting Poliwag's soft head. "It's all right. Like you said, he was curious."

"Poli!" Poliwag cried happily, nodding as best he could.

"All right," Troy said, laughing.

"So this is Troy…" Lola's voice cut in. "What do you think, Twin?"

"He seems nice," Bailey said.

"Uh…friends of yours, May?" Troy asked, appearing a little…uncomfortable as the Twins stared at him with narrowed eyes of evaluation.

"Yeah," May answered. "These are the Twins."

"I'm Lola," the dark skinned Twin said as she shook his extended hand.

"And I'm Bailey!" the pale Twin shook his hand as well. "Don't be confused by our appearances. Although we couldn't look less like twins—"

"We're twins at heart and that's what counts," Lola finished.

"Wow," Troy nodded. "You girls ARE just like twins. That's pretty cool." May could tell the Twins were totally psyched by this news. There was a boy that existed that didn't think they were just plain weird. Well, besides Austin, but May was beginning to think that they didn't think of him as a "guy" really—or at least one outside their group, that is.

"This is Austin," May introduced him.

"Nice to meet you," Troy said.

"Same," Austin replied, shaking his hand.

"And you've already met Ella…" May said as the girl rushed through the water towards them.

"Oh yeah," Troy nodded. "I met her at the dance."

"Hi," Ella managed as she tried to suppress her giggles.

"Well," Troy said after a moment, glancing down at his Poliwag. "Poliwag and I were just about to get some lunch. You guys care to join us?"

"Sure!" the five of them chorused.

"Let us dry ourselves off and we'll meet you down there," May said.

"Okay," Troy said with a nod. "I'll see you guys in the dining hall." With that, he walked off with his Poliwag tottering along dutifully beside him.

Ella fell in to a fit of giggles as soon as he was out of sight.

"What's so funny?" May asked her.

"You _sooooo _like him!" Ella cried out as she continued to laugh. "And he _sooooo_ likes you!"

A blush crept across May's cheeks. "But how is that funny?"

"So you _do _like him!" Ella said, her laughter ceasing for a few moments.

"I never said that!"

"Don't worry, May," Lola cut in.

"He's most definitely a keeper," Bailey finished.

"He didn't even think we were creepy!" the two smiled as they spoke at the same time again.

"Trust me, May," Austin said to her. "Troy definitely likes you."

"You really think so? But he just met me!" May gazed at the door Troy had disappeared through the door that led inside.

"I'm a guy, remember?" Austin joked.

"No, really?" Lola cut in before he could say anything else. She laughed. "I thought you were a girl."

"Careful, Twin," Bailey said, warningly. "Don't insult us girls by calling _that_ a girl. I'm not sure what _it_ is."

"Ha ha," Austin rolled his eyes and turned back to May. "Anyway, before I was interrupted, I was going to say that, being a guy, I can tell if a guy likes a girl or not. And Troy definitely likes you."

"Come on," Ella said. "Anyone can tell that from the way he perked up when May said she was going to join him for lunch."

"Correction: WE are going to join him for lunch," May reminded her.

"Aw, but you should go by yourself! Troy would just love that!"

"No," May said firmly. "We're all going down there or I'm just going to stay up here by the pool."

"Ugh," Ella groaned. "Fine! We'll come."

"Good. So let's go dry ourselves off so we can head down there!" May cried as she pulled herself out of the pool.

Ella hoisted herself out after her and, standing, smiled deviously down at the rest of them.

"Uh-oh," May heard Austin mutter. Then, he spoke up a bit louder. "I don't like the look on your face, Ella…"

"Well then you're definitely not going to like what I'm going to say either."

"Oh? And what's that?"

"Last one to the towels has to put ketchup on everything they eat at lunch!" Ella dashed off towards the towels as the Twins and Austin scrambled to get out of the pool. May laughed as she ran after Ella, who had already grabbed her towel.

"Not fair guys!" Austin cried when he came up last. May, Ella, and the Twins just laughed.

But not one of them noticed a tall man dressed as a Cacturne watching them from the shadows.

"Have fun while you can, May dear," Harley muttered to himself. "Because it will be me taking the glory at the Grand Festival this year…and you won't even win a single contest when I'm through with you!"

* * *

**Well, THAT was a long one! Sorry if you guys don't like the length...I didn't really intend to write this much. You know, sometimes it just...happens...ah well!**

**I have to ask you how my portrayal of May is coming though...I mean, I have to be honest and admit that I skipped the season of Pokemon she was in because at first I didn't like it. Then, later, I went back and watched it and decided that May was awesome...and then I got this idea...but what I'm trying to say is that I don't know if my idea of May's thoughts and actions are quite accurate. If she IS a little too OOC, I do really apologize...I'll just call it creative leeway? Feel free to offer suggestions if you have some better ideas at certain points, though! They are welcome! ^_^**

**Here's just a few notes for you faithful readers:**

*** I don't know why, but I really love portraying Harley as a "little too feminine" XD Perhaps at times I may make him a little over the top, but that's only because I'm having some fun! ^_^**

**** Okay, you can't tell me you've never had something like this throwing you off...Well, I have. There have been moments where someone did something and it threw me off so much that I literally reacted the way May did...it kept me up all night and it was NOT fun... X(**

***** Dude, it's freakin' Pokemon. It's ALLOWED to be cheesy! Haha! Actually, this (and the "let's get this party started" from last chapter) is something my friends and I have really done before! It was those days when we all felt ridiculously silly for no reason so we had some fun putting a little cheese into our lives! Haha! Come on! You all know you do something like this! XD**

**All right! Feedback time!**

**LoveLoverGrl - Thanks for your support! I absolutely love writing and it always makes me smile when my work is appreciated! ^_^**

**splitheart1120 - Actually, I got the idea for Lola and Bailey after reading the _House of Night_ book series! If you know what I'm talking about or have read the books before you would immediately see a resemblence! Haha XD**

**FluteHero13 - I don't so much as think of Harley as a stalker as much as just a big creeper...a very feminine creeper XD ... ... ...but have no fear! What kinda story would this be if Drew didn't make his appearance? **

**Hmmm - Glad you love it! And like I said before, it's Pokemon. That alone makes it perfectly okay to be cheesy! XD And come on, what is life without a little cheese! Haha! **

**Mewtastic - Yay! I'm so happy you like this story! I worked real hard! XD And like I've been saying, don't worry! Drew will make his appearance soon! XD**

**All right, that's it! I'm done for now! Hope you all enjoyed it! I'll be back as soon as I can with another update! Thanks for reading and it would be super special awesome if you guys reviewed! Thanks! C****omments or concerns or please let me know if I'm writing/portraying something wrong! I HAVE skipped seasons of Pokémon so I'm kinda just winging it!**

**- Lex**

**~NOZOMI!~**


	4. Circumstances in Cherrygrove City

**Wow! It's been awhile! I'm so sorry, my faithful readers! I didn't mean to be gone for two months! I've just been SO busy! School has been MERCILESS! It's so annoying! X_X**

**Anyhoo, now I'm back with ANOTHER update for this story! Yay, it's coming along quite nicely...in my opinion, at least! I'm not the judge of what you people think! Though I hope it is for the best! ^_^**

**May: And quick disclaimer! Lexi STILL does NOT own us!**

**Me: Someday, people...someday...(or not)...but OOH! This will make you readers happy! Perhaps you'll find the appearance of a "certain someone" in this chapter! *wink, wink* *nudge, nudge***

**So read on! Quick!**

* * *

**Chapter 4: Circumstances in Cherrygrove City**

"Look!" Ella squealed and pointed out at the water. "There it is! Cherrygrove City! We've made it to the Johto region!" She leaned over the ship's railing in eager anticipation.

"She's right," Austin said, using his hand to block the sun from his eyes as he gazed at the large mass ahead that was Cherrygrove City. "We're here."

"Finally!" the Twins cried in relief, gazing at the fast-approaching land with Ella and Austin.

May smiled in delight as she rested her arms on the ship's railing next to Ella. The city was becoming clearer and clearer; they were almost there. She could see people walking around on the piers and the shoreline before them.

_Cherrygrove City, here I come_. May balled one of her hands into a fist and she stared out at the land. She was ready.

"Nothing's going to stop us now!" Ella cried, leaning harder on the railing. "I'm ready for anyth—" She didn't get to finish as the ship suddenly gave a tremendous lurch and both May and Ella lost their grips on the railing. They tottered for a moment before the edge, and, for a moment, they looked as if they had regained their balance. But then, the ship gave another awful lurch, stronger than the one before. May let out a cry of surprise, matched quickly by Ella's, as they toppled over the edge to the crashing waves below.

"Ella! May!" May heard Austin and the Twins scream as they fell. She didn't hear anything else as she plunged into the icy water. Trying not to panic, she wasted no time fighting the waves to surface for air.

"Ella!" she called to her friend once she had surfaced.

"May!" Ella's cry was above her and she glanced up to see her friend was being pulled up to safety by the vines from a Bellsprout that stood on deck next to Austin. May realized that it must be Austin's Bellsprout, which he had called out when she and Ella had fallen. It had been able to catch Ella with its thick vines, but May must have been too far away for it to reach. As she watched the Pokémon, she wasn't even sure it would have been able to hold both her and Ella's weight. Even now, the Pokémon's eyes were strained, like it was struggling to lift just Ella to safety. Its yellow bulb-like head was leaned back and its pink lips were pursed. Its brown root-like feet were planted firmly on the ground and its leaf-like arms were bent over the edge, through the railing, as it pulled Ella up. May had an instant flashback to the time on Mirage Island, when she and Drew had fallen over the cliff and into the river below. Roderick's Bellsprout had attempted to rescue them, but, unlike how Austin's Bellsprout had succeeded in rescuing Ella, May remembered that her hand had slipped from Roderick's Bellsprout's grasp, causing both her and Drew to plunge into the water and down that waterfall…

Suddenly, May panicked, losing all her thoughts on Drew, as she realized the ferry was slowly making its way past her. Ella, Austin, and the Twins were getting farther and farther away, but she could still hear them crying her name. But a few more minutes and she would never be able to get back on board!

_Not while I'm so close to Johto!_ May's mind raced, trying to figure out a plan to escape the icy clutches of the water around her. But no thoughts came to her mind as the water pulled her under again. The ship's wake was making it harder and harder to stay above water. She surfaced again and began swimming after the ferry, but her strength was ebbing. Not to mention the water was so cold, May could no longer feel her feet. The cries of her friends didn't make it to her ears anymore as she felt herself falling under the water again.

_This is it_…_I'm not going to make it to Johto after all…_This couldn't be happening! She HAD to get to Johto! She HAD to compete! She HAD to see everyone she loved again! Images and memories flitted before her eyes as May slowly, involuntarily let go of herself. This was it. This was her end.

Strangely, though, she didn't feel any different. In fact, slowly, May felt the pressure and the icy cold of the water around her disappear. Opening her eyes, she looked down to see that she was now above the water and steadily rising higher and higher. As the numbness drifted away, she felt the presence of something carrying her and she looked up. She was being carried by a large dragon-type Pokémon. Its arms were short and small, but they were made up for by larger feet of the same color that hung limply in the air as it flew. Its wings were large, yellow-green, and diamond-shaped with the skin around the edges being a thin line of red. Its long tail was striped dark green and light green with the same kind of diamond shape and colors as the wings protruding out of the end in three formations. Its light green head was looking straight ahead at the shoreline, with two long, dark green protrusions sticking out straight behind its head. The protrusions looped together in between two large red eyes with large black pupils that weren't looking at May.

_Flygon!_ May suddenly realized. The Pokémon that was carrying her was a Flygon! Then, just like that, the Flygon came in for a landing on the soft grass and dropped May lightly on the ground. She lifted herself onto her knees, pressing her hands into the grass and coughing up splatters of water. She took a few shuddering breaths and her eyes closed tightly together.

"Gee May," a familiar voice sighed. "You barely made it to Johto and already you've gotten yourself into trouble…"

May's breath stopped in her chest and she slowly lifted her head. Before her stood a young boy around her age with green hair and emerald eyes. He was dressed in a light purple jacket with a darker long-sleeve shirt underneath, completed with a pair of sea green colored pants. He stoked his Flygon's back with one hand before returning it to its Pokéball. Then, he gave May a light smirk.

"D-Drew?" she coughed. In response, he lifted his other hand to his face and flicked his hair out of his face. Yep, it was definitely Drew.

"Something rammed into the ferry," Drew told her, staring out at the approaching ship.

"H-huh?" May shivered slightly as she picked herself up off the ground.

"There was some kind of Pokémon that rammed into the side of the ferry. That's why you and your friend fell over the rail."

"A P-Pokémon…?"

"I watched it myself."

"But what kind of Pokémon?" May asked.

Drew shrugged. "I couldn't tell. The ferry was too far away."

May turned back and glanced at the ferry, which was pulling into the harbor. "I wonder if anyone saw…"

A strange silence settled in between the two of them as they watched the ferry dock. May knew that Ella, Austin, and the Twins would soon be departing the ferry and probably racing around frantically to find her.

"Well, you sure took your sweet time getting here," Drew said after a moment, breaking May's thoughts.

Surprised, she turned back and glanced at him. "I had to stay to watch Ash win at the Battle Pyramid."

"So he did become a champion of the Battle Frontier then, huh?"

"Yep," May said, smiling as she remembered another memory. "Then, he was actually offered a job as a Frontier Brain, but he turned it down…"

"What? Why?" Drew asked, surprised.

"I guess he wanted to travel to Sinnoh…he'll probably board the ferry soon…Brock went with him…" She stopped as she realized she was rambling on, drowning in all the memories of her travels with the two of them. It was going to be very different without them around.

"Are you okay?" Drew's voice cut into her thoughts.

"Oh, yeah, I'm fine," May smiled and glanced back at the ferry. "But I should probably head over to the ferry. My new friends will be frantic, thinking I drowned or something…" She gave Drew another small smile.

"I should get going too, I guess," he said with a quick glance at the ferry. "But you do know there's a Pokémon contest within the week, right?"

"Yeah, I heard about that."

"Then I expect to see you there, May."

May smiled. "Don't worry, Drew. I'll be there, and I'm going to beat you, too."

Drew chuckled. "We'll see." And with that, he turned around and began walking off down the shoreline, hands in his pockets. May watched him go for a while, shivering with the chilly breeze, until he was almost out of sight. Then, she heard faint noises behind her and she pulled her eyes away from Drew's disappearing form.

"May!" She turned and saw Ella, Austin, and the Twins rushing towards her at full speed.

"Are you all right?" Ella asked as Austin threw a large towel around May's shoulders. "Austin's Bellsprout tried to grab you, but you were out of reach. We thought you were going to drown! But then we saw that Flygon lift you out of the water and carry you to the beach! And—"

"I'm okay, Ella," May said, cutting off Ella's chatter. "Drew rescued me with his Flygon."

"D-D-Drew…" the Twins' voices stuttered before trailing off, and their mouths dropped open, as they noticed the figure walking off in the distance that was Drew.

"That was…" Ella's eyes went wide, and she pointed gently towards Drew's receding form.

"Yeah," May said, nodding. "That was Drew."

"And he r-rescued you…" Bailey stood there, dumbstruck, as she continued to watch Drew as he slowly disappeared from sight until he was completely gone.

"That was Drew?" Lola cried out suddenly, a hint of a squeal in her voice. She turned and frowned at May. "Why didn't you have him stay to introduce us to him?"

"I-I…" May began, a little shocked and unsure of what to say.

"Twins," Ella scolded, "May was in shock from nearly drowning! She was lucky she was even rescued! And, if this thought never entered your skulls, did you ever think to believe Drew left on his own account. There will be plenty of time at the contest this week to have May introduce us to Drew."

The Twins seemed shocked even more than May had been by Ella's sudden maternal scolding.

"Sorry. You're right," Lola murmured.

"Plenty of time later," Bailey repeated in a mumble.

"Come on, May," Ella said. "Johto is a much colder region than Hoenn or Kanto so you must be freezing. Lucky for us my ranch isn't that far away." Then, Ella began tugging May in the other direction, behind Austin and the Twins. However, as they walked away, May stole one last glance behind her at where Drew had left.

But yet again, none of them noticed the tall figure that was watching them from near the shoreline, where an orange-red colored Pokémon suddenly emerged from the water. It made a moaning noise as it saw its trainer and its many orange-red tentacles flapped limply onto the ground. The yellow suction cups gripped the grass tightly and it lowered its large spherical head (with two large yellow bumps on it) in shame. It spit sludge out of its tube-like mouth and closed its large white eyes.

"No, don't be ashamed, Octillery darling," Harley said. "You did an excellent job ramming into the ferry. It was that nasty Drew that ruined our plan. He just _had_ to save little May from her deadly, icy fate. But don't you worry one bit, darling, we'll get them both next time…"

* * *

"Ella, honey! You're home!"

"Hi Mom," Ella managed to say before her mother squashed her in a tight embrace. May could easily see that Ella looked almost exactly like her mother; same hair, facial features, form. But it seemed that she must have had her father's eyes because her mother's were dark brown.

"And I see you brought some friends!" her mother cried when she saw the rest of them. Then, she noticed May's shivering state. "Oh my goodness! What happened to you, dear?"

"That's why we had to rush to get here," Ella said and then she explained to her mother what had happened on the ferry.

"Oh, you poor darling! Hurry, dear, come inside before you freeze!" She stepped away from the door and let the five of them inside. May had to admit, the house was small, but it looked very much like a home should. The main living room had a single television setup with a couch and a few cushiony chairs set up around. Off to the right was the doorway into what looked like the kitchen, which was lined with cabinets and countertops. There was a small dining room that branched off from that room with a large, wooden table settled up at the center that looked like it could feed eight people if two more chairs were added to the two long sides.

"Here, May," Ella said, dragging the brunette back to reality. "You can come with me up to my room and you can change out of your wet clothes. Austin, Twins, you guys make yourself comfortable in the living room, here. Mom will make us some hot chocolate."

"Of course I will! And you kids can call me Jackie." With another friendly smile, Jackie hustled back into the kitchen to make the hot chocolate.

"My mom's real name is Jaclyn," Ella told May as she led her past the living room and down a short hallway. "But she likes everyone to call her Jackie. She claims it makes her feel younger." Ella smiled as she giggled. Then, the two of them trooped up the stairway that branched off to the left from the hallway. The door to the right looked like it led to a master bedroom, most likely her parent's room. Upstairs, there was a longer hallway that curved around and led to four doors.

"My eldest sister's room," Ella explained, jerking her thumb at the first door off to the left, and then she pointed to the one across from it on the right. "And that room there is my brother's room. My room's on the left down there, past my sister's room, and the bathroom's across from that if you need it. And I'm sorry if the room is a mess…I share it with my other older sister…" She led May down to the last door on the left and opened it to reveal a cozy little room painted a pale purple color. There were two beds against the far wall with the window right next to it. The floor was smooth wood and covered in certain areas with thick, wooly rugs. As she stepped into the room, May noticed that, on the left wall, a closet was open to reveal a huge array of clothes lined up inside. Then, May turned to look at the right wall, and she could only stare and wish badly that she hadn't looked. The wall had many pictures of different contests covering the pale purple, but most of the wall was covered in posters of Drew.

"Wow, she must have cleaned while I was gone…" Ella turned around to give May a smile, which suddenly turned sheepish when she noticed what her friend was staring at. "Oh…hehe, yeah…I, uh, probably should have mentioned this to you guys…"

"The Twins aren't the only ones who are in love with Drew, huh?" May said, not sure what else to say.

"I'll just leave you to get changed. You can borrow any of my clothes you want. I don't mind…" Ella shifted her weight onto her other foot uncomfortably. "But if you don't feel comfortable changing in my room because of the…posters…feel free to change in the bathroom." Then, the usually energetic girl was out the door and down the stairs. May sighed and unbuckled her belt bag, which was remarkably mostly dry, from her waist and rummaged through it to make sure all her Pokémon were there. Satisfied when she saw they were, she looked through Ella's closet for some clothes she could borrow. Finally, she settled on a red T-shirt and a pair of blue jeans.

However, she took another look at the right wall and decided it was a bad idea to change in Ella's room. There was no way she would ever feel comfortable doing so with all of the posters. So, in the end, she settled on changing in the bathroom across the hall. When she came back into Ella's room, she found some empty hangers in the closet and hung her now damp clothes on them to dry. She hooked the hangers on the door handle and, grabbing her bag, which was now nearly dry, left Ella's room.

When she came back into the living room, Austin, the Twins, and Ella were all sipping hot chocolate out of mugs. A fifth mug waited for her on the coffee table between the television and the couch. May picked it up and plopped herself down on the couch next to Austin.

"Feeling better?" he asked as she sat down.

"You have no idea," she answered. "What were you guys talking about?"

"We were just discussing the contest that's going to take place in Cherrygrove City in a few days, remember?" Ella said.

"Oh, right!" May nodded. "I'm so excited!"

"I think we all are," Bailey agreed.

"Do you know which Pokémon you're going to use?" Lola asked her. "So far, we all know who we're using."

May shook her head. "Actually, I haven't got a clue who I'm going to use in the contest…"

"What?" Ella cried. "May, you had better decided quick! How are you going to practice if you don't know which Pokémon you're going to use?"

"Oh don't worry," May said quickly. "I'll figure out something soon."

Ella suddenly perked up. "Hey! Do you guys want to come see the Pokémon that we take care of on our ranch?"

"Sure," May, the Twins, and Austin answered together.

May frowned. "What kind of Pokémon _do _you take care of here?"

"A lot," Ella replied with a nod of her head. "We take care of Mareep, Flaaffy, Ampharos, Spoink, Grumpig, Tauros, Ponyta, Rapidash, Miltank, Growlithe, Arcanine, Skitty, and Delcatty. There's also Goldeen, Seaking, Seel, Dewgong, and Magikarp living in our pond that connects to a river running through the forest." Before she could say anything else, the front door opened and a tall man stomped in. He was dressed in thick, brown work overalls over a checkered red and white shirt. He also wore heavy, dark brown work boots on his feet. Looking up, he saw the five of them, frowned, and stroked his short brown beard. May had been right about Ella having her dad's eyes; his emerald eyes matched Ella's almost to perfection.

"Now who in the world…" His voice trailed off as he noticed Ella. "Ella! My little girl's come home! Why didn't your mother come get me? I would have been inside quicker rather than a Tauros lunch stampede!"

"Hi Dad," Ella said, standing up to embrace her father. "Actually, I just got home so don't worry."

"I see," her dad turned her attention to May, Austin, and the Twins. "And who are your friends here?"

"These are Ella's new friends she was telling us about in her last letter," Jackie said, coming into the living room.

"I see…hmm…well, since there's only one guy, you must be Austin," Ella's dad reached out his hand and Austin shook it.

"Yep, that's me. Pleasure to meet you, Sir."

"Please, call me Dave. I'd feel too old if you called me 'Sir.'" He chuckled and turned to May and the Twins. "Now, Ella said that the Twins had nothing in common appearance-wise, but they acted like Twins…" He glanced from May, to Bailey and Lola, who had squished together on one of the chairs and ran a hand through his short dark brown hair. "Since it looks like you two can't be separated from each other, I suppose you're the twins I've heard about."

Bailey and Lola giggled. "That would be us," they said together.

"By golly, they really do act like twins!" Dave cried as he shook their hands. "But now who is this lovely young lady, Ella? I don't think you mentioned her in your letter…"

"No," Ella said. "This is May. We met her on the ferry ride here. She's a Co-ordinator just like us."

"Really, now?" Dave gave his daughter a surprised look. "Ella, you're just making friends left and right, aren't you now?"

Ella's smile seemed like that of embarrassment. "Dad," she whined. "I have the ability to make friends…"

Dave laughed a deep-belly laugh. "Don't worry! I didn't mean it like that. I was just surprised to see that you've made so many in such a short period of time." He smiled and embraced his daughter.

Suddenly, the front door behind them burst open again and a teenage girl, who looked to be a good few years older than Ella, stood in the doorway, panting like she had run all the way to the house. She was dressed in a checkered shirt like Dave, but she wore jeans instead of overalls.

"Mom! Dad!" the girl gasped when she had caught her breath, brushing a strand of her black hair away from her face.

"My goodness, sweetheart!" Jackie exclaimed as she rushed to her daughter's side. "What ever is the matter?"

The girl's dark brown eyes glanced at her parents with a look of complete worry. "The Tauros escaped their pen and are rampaging around the property somewhere!"

May gasped in shock along with everyone else in the room.

"There's no time to lose!" Dave cried as he raced out the open door. Without another word, the girl, Jackie, and Ella rushed after him. May shared a single glance with Austin and the Twins before they took off after them. May figured that Ella and her family would need all the help they could get rounding up the renegade Tauros.

The four of them followed Ella and her family down to a large, open field that was surrounded by a tough-looking wooden fence. However, as they got closer, they could see a massive break between two of the posts where the wood beams had been completely snapped apart. Standing near the break were two other kids.

One was a boy with dark brown hair similar to his dad's, who looked to be older than the girl who had told them about the Tauros. His blue-grey eyes were gazing out beyond the pasture, most likely searching for the missing Tauros. He was dressed almost exactly like Dave, except that he wore a plain blue T-shirt underneath jean overalls. He did have the same kind of work boots on his feet, but colored blue instead of murky brown.

Next to him, beckoning them over, was a younger looking girl who looked to be only a year or two older than Ella. She had black hair (like all the other females in her family) that was partially covered by a light purple and pink beanie-type hat. Her dark brown eyes (they were the same color as her mom's and her sister's) were filled with worry. Unlike the boy, she wore a pair of jeans with a pale purple T-shirt. She was wearing light purple boots in similar color to her shirt, but they were more of the fashion-only kind rather than work boots.

"The Tauros just seemed to have disappeared," the boy cried as May and the others approached the two of them. "There aren't even any hoof prints. The grass is too wet from last night's rain. All the prints filled with water and can't be found now. It looks like we're going to have to split up and search the entire property to even get a hint of where they went!"

Dave's brow furrowed and he gazed out at the seemingly endless forestry that lay beyond the grassy plain. After a moment, he nodded. "All right, then. I don't think it will be that hard to find the stampeding Tauros. There's too many for them to completely disappear. But we'll have to travel in groups. Use your Pokémon to help round them up and into the pasture."

"I'll take my friends and we'll check by the river," Ella said.

Her father nodded. "Then your mother and I will head out to the forest."

"And we'll take the open plains to the south," the older girl who had come to get them said.

"We'll meet back up here in half an hour," Dave told them. "But if we don't find them by then, I don't think we will." He suddenly had a grim expression on his face.

"Then let's search to the best of our ability!" Ella cried. "We _have_ to find the Tauros!"

* * *

"How can a stampede of Tauros just disappear?" Austin wondered aloud. May couldn't respond; she had no answer. She, Austin, Ella, and the Twins had been walking along the river trying to find the stampede of Tauros for about ten minutes now. Around them, the sounds of everyday Pokémon forest life continued as if nothing was wrong; Ledyba buzzed happily through the air, Furret and Sentret scampered along the forest floor, Pineco slept lazily in the trees, and the occasional Bellossom drifted across the path.

"I don't know," Ella admitted after a moment. "But it has me worried…they've never broken the fence before…"

"I'm sure we'll find them," May tried to reassure her friend, giving her a small smile. But it didn't seem to have much effect.

"Exactly how many Tauros are we looking for?" the Twins chorused.

"Oh, somewhere around thirty, I think," Ella responded calmly.

"What?" May cried. "But that doesn't make any sense! That many Tauros can't all disappear at the same time!"

"You're absolutely right," Austin said as he stopped dead in his tracks, looking straight ahead. "They can't."

"But they did…" Ella said, watching him warily.

Austin shook his head. "No, they didn't."

"What makes you so sure?" the Twins cried, placing their hands on their hips.

"That." With one hand, Austin extended one of his arms outward to point to the river ahead of them. The rest of them turned to see a HUGE herd of Tauros standing around in front of them, grazing and drinking from the river.

"The Tauros!" Ella cried.

"Ella, don't!" May hissed in a tight whisper, but it was too late. The Tauros, hearing Ella's cry, raised their massive light brown heads and stomped their hooves. Their bodies were built powerfully strong with massive muscles in their legs. They tossed their heads and dark brown scruff, their horns flashing dangerously in the light, and swished their three grey tails warningly. On each Tauros were three smaller, but still dangerous, horn-like shapes in a row along the top of their heads.

And then, with an echo of cries, the Tauros bent their heads and charged directly at the group of friends.

"They're using Take Down!" Austin cried.

"No kidding, genius," Bailey retorted.

"But let's not just sit here to get squashed!" Lola screamed as the Tauros quickened their pace.

"I have an idea," Ella said, already backing up. "RUN!" With that, the five of them sprinted away from the Tauros and away from the river.

"There's no way we can outrun the Tauros!" Austin shouted he glanced back on the advancing Pokémon. "They're way too fast!"

"What's made them so angry?" May wondered as she struggled to keep her distance between herself and the charging Pokémon.

"Who cares?" Bailey cried. "I'd rather live than find out!"

"Agreed, Twin!" Lola glanced hastily at Austin as they ran. "Austin! Do something!"

"Me? What am I supposed to do?"

"I don't know! But do something quickly!" Lola called back.

"We could use our Pokémon to stop them," Ella suggested.

"That…" Lola paused for a moment, "…is a very good idea…" She turned suddenly and skidded to a stop, a Pokéball already in her hand. May, Bailey, Ella and Austin followed her lead.

"We may not be able to completely stop them," Ella said, "but we should be able to drive them back into the pasture."

"Right," Austin, the Twins, and May nodded together.

"Bellsprout, let's go!" Austin cried as he launched a Pokéball into the air.

"Bellsprout!" his grass type Pokémon called as it was released from its Pokéball.

"Use razor leaf!" Austin ordered.

"Mudkip!" the Twins screamed together. Then, they launched their two Pokéballs up toward the sky, releasing the twin water type Pokémon.

"Mud—" Bailey's Mudkip began.

"Kip!" Lola's Mudkip finished.

"Bubblebeam, on the double!" the Twins told their Pokémon.

"Mareep, you're up!" Ella tossed her Pokéball into the air.

"Mareep!" the electric Pokémon cried as she was released with a flash of red light. Standing on four small blue legs, almost every inch of the sheep Pokémon's body was covered in a fluffy, creamy yellow coat of wool. Her black and yellow striped tail extended out until it ended in a small yellow ball, which was used by the wool Pokémon to charge all of her electrical moves. A chunk of thick wool parted to reveal Mareep's small blue head, with two cone-shaped, horn-like protrusions that also served as ears jutting out from the two sides of her head. They were also striped black and yellow.

"Let's use thunderbolt, Mareep!" Ella told her Pokémon.

May was pulling out a Pokéball when she stopped and glanced at the four Pokémon standing in front of the group. It was surely an awkward moment to be hit with realization, but looking at these four Pokémon, May suddenly knew why Ella, Austin, Bailey, and Lola had necklaces with the charms they did. The charms matched the type Pokémon, which May guessed was the Pokémon they had started their journeys with. They had bought the necklaces to commemorate them because it was so special. May smiled at the thought, remembering when she had been given Blaziken, back when he was still a Torchic.

"May? What are you doing?" Ella's voice brought her out of her thoughts.

"Oh, right! Sorry!" May released her fire-type Pokémon out of his Pokéball. "Blaziken, use fire spin!"

"Blaziken!" her Pokémon cried as he was released.

At the same time, each of the five Pokémon launched their attacks on the rampaging Tauros. From the leaves that served at Bellsprout's arms, razor sharp leaves spun their way towards the Tauros, stopping some of them in their tracks with the impact. The Twins' Mudkip blew volley after volley of bubbles at the Tauros, which stopped even more of them. With the energy charged in her wool and tail, Mareep launched her electric fury at still more of the Tauros, stopping those that were hit with the intense power of the electric blast. Finally, Blaziken's spinning blast of fire stopped the rest of the rampaging Tauros before they could reach May and the others.

"Now, let's drive them back to the pasture!" Ella cried. "Keep using thunderbolt, Mareep!"

"Keep hammering them with razor leaf, Bellsprout!" Austin told her Pokémon.

"Drive them back with water gun, Mudkip!" the Twins ordered their Pokémon.

"Keep up that fire spin, Blaziken!" May shouted. Slowly, with each hit, the Tauros began to back up in the direction toward the pasture. Then, the Tauros were all fully inside the pasture.

"We did it!" the Twins cried simultaneously.

"I wouldn't be so sure…" Austin said, frowning hard at the Tauros, who were suddenly shouting and stomping their hooves. It looked to May like they were angered even more than before…

"It's something about that pasture!" she realized suddenly. "Something's not right…"

"Look!" Ella cried, pointing to the grass inside the pasture. "There's something in the grass."

Austin frowned and bent down next to the fence, examining the grass. He ran his fingers slowly through one section and suddenly winced. "Ow…" His arm quickly withdrew from the green blades.

"What's wrong?" Ella asked in alarm. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Austin said. "But it's as I thought…"

"What is?" the Twins asked.

"This…" Austin held up his hand, revealing a small hole in his finger, which was bleeding slightly.

"Spikes," May said automatically.

"Huh?" Ella and the Twins each frowned.

"There's a ground move a Pokémon can use called spikes," Austin explained. "It drops sharp spikes all over the battlefield, and I think that some Pokémon used that move to cover the entire pasture."

"That's horrible!" Ella cried. "And all the poor Tauros…no wonder they were upset and broke through the fence!"

"We have to get them back out of there before they hurt themselves," May said.

"Quick," Ella pointed towards the giant red barn next to the pasture. "We have to get them inside the barn!"

"How? We can't send out Pokémon to round them up. They'll just get hurt by the spikes too," Bailey pointed out.

"Tauros are smart enough Pokémon," Ella said. "If we just open the barn door, they should want to stampede inside to get away from the spikes. Follow me!" They quickly took off after Ella as she sprinted towards the barn. They raced inside the main door, which had already been opened, and Ella led them into the large stall. Inside, there was another door that led out into the Tauros' pasture. She grasped the hefty door handle and pulled.

"It's…really…heavy," she grunted.

"Need some help?" May offered, grabbing onto the open space of the handle. Austin and the Twins also grasped the remaining empty space. Then, together, they yanked on the handle until the barn door finally creaked and slid open.

"Now hurry up and get out of the way!" Ella directed, and they quickly heeded her advice. And sure enough, as soon as they had hastily left the oversized stall, the Tauros came parading into the barn, eager to get away from the spikes. Quickly, Ella shut the stall door and locked it.

Panting, the five of them collapsed on different bushels of hay (well, the Twins were squashed on the same one), glanced at each other, and burst out laughing.

"What a day…er…morning…" Austin said, shaking his head slowly.

"Yeah," Ella, May, and the Twins agreed, nodding.

"What next?" Ella joked.

"How about relaxation?" the Twins suggested.

"Sounds good," May agreed.

All of a sudden, the rest of Ella's family came jogging into the barn.

"We thought we heard shouting…" Dave said, breathing hard.

"You guys found the Tauros!" the older girl cried as she noticed the Pokémon locked in the large stall.

"Yeah," May said.

"But we have a problem," Ella told her family. "There are spikes in the pasture."

"What?" Jackie cried.

Austin nodded. "We think some kind of Pokémon used the move spikes to plant them in the pasture, causing the Tauros pain wherever they stepped. That's a good enough reason for the Tauros to want to break out in the first place."

"Well," Dave said, "then there's a lot of work to get done. We have to clean out the pasture and check to make sure none of the Tauros have any spikes stuck in their hooves. And if they do, we have to carefully remove them without causing them further injury. That won't help them at all."

"We'll help you," May said, speaking for her, Austin, and the Twins.

"But they're all riled up," Bailey pointed out. "How are we even going to get anywhere close to them without having _them_ hurt _us_?"

"Don't worry about that," Ella's other sister said. "I have an easy way to fix that."

"Ohmygosh!" Ella cried suddenly, startling everyone else in the barn.

"Ella, dear, what's wrong?" Jackie asked.

"I never introduced my friends to the rest of my family! Oh, I'm such a horrible hostess!" Ella shook her head and rubbed her temples, looking deeply troubled.

"Oh, honey…" Jackie smiled and hugged her daughter. "That's easy enough to fix. With the escape of the Tauros, there wasn't any time. But I think there's enough time before we help the Tauros for quick introductions."

"All right," Ella said, pulling away from her mother to stand in between the rest of her family and her friends. "Family, this is Austin, May, and the Twins, Bailey and Lola, who aren't really twins, but if you read my letters you would know why we call them that."

"Don't worry," the boy said. "Mom read all your letters out loud to us at dinner so we know all about the Twins, but not so much May. I don't even think you mentioned her…"

"We met her on the ferry over," Ella explained. "But we're remarkably similar…"

"Yeah," Austin added. "It's as scary as the Twins' connection…" Both Ella and May gave everyone a small, slightly embarrassed smile.

"Anyway," Ella said, regaining her composure. "Friends, this is my family. You've already met my mom and dad, but these are my siblings. This is my older sister."

"I'm Dana," the girl who had warned them about the Tauros said.

"And this is my other older sister, who is actually younger than Dana…" Ella continued.

"My name's Victoria, but you can call me Tori." She smiled warmly at them.

"And finally," Ella said. "This is my older brother. He's older than Dana…but he is obviously younger than my eldest sister, Felicia, but I already told you about her…and I know what you're all thinking. Yes, I am the baby in my family." She tried to look a little irritated, but a small smile broke out across her lips.

"The name's Cole," Ella's brother told May, Austin, and the Twins, who nodded in response.

"See Ella?" Jackie piped up. "Now everyone has been introduced. No harm done."

"But now I think we should get to work helping the Tauros…" Dave said.

"Um…" May faltered, unsure of how to propose the question that was on her mind. "How do you…uh…how do you plan to calm them down?"

"Like I said before, I can take care of that," Tori told her. With a smile, she reached into her jean pocket and pulled out a red and white Pokéball. A burst of red light appeared when she launched it up into the air. When the light disappeared, May noticed that, in its place, was a small pink puffball. It was literally a pink Pokémon shaped like a large ball with two little pink feet and two little pink arms sticking out. Protruding from the top were two triangular ears with black insides. The Pokémon had two large blue eyes that covered much of its face and a bit of pink fluff was located coming out of the top of its ball form. A tiny mouth formed an "o" shape as the Pokémon stared up at the many humans surrounding it.

"It's a Jigglypuff," Austin said, bending down to get a closer look at the balloon Pokémon.

"Jiggly, jigglypuff, puff… Puff, puff!" the pink Pokémon huffed, crossing its tiny arms as if in a pout.

"Oh, no need to get all sassy," Tori scolded her Pokémon. "We need your help." Jigglypuff seemed to suddenly brighten with this new spot of information and she stepped forward proudly, ready to be of assistance.

"That's Jigglypuff…" Cole muttered under his breath. Thankfully, Jigglypuff didn't hear him.

"You all might want to leave the barn," Tori said with a small smile on her face. "There's only one way she, meaning Jigglypuff, can calm down thirty enraged Tauros." Nothing else needed to be said; they each got the idea. Following Tori's instruction, they left the barn, but before Dave and Cole could close the large barn door, Tori called to her Pokémon, "Jigglypuff, use sing!"

As Jigglypuff's song began, Cole and Dave closed the large door, blocking out most of the sound. To block out the rest, they each covered their ears with their hands. They waited patiently for Jigglypuff to finish her song. Finally, they saw her tiny form peering out at them through one of the windows.

"That's the all clear," Tori said as she helped Cole move the barn door. Then, the ten of them entered the barn to see thirty sleeping Tauros. "Now, they won't sleep forever, but we should have enough time to pull whatever's stuck in their hooves out."

"When we finish here, we can clean out the pasture," Dave told them.

They nodded grimly.

"That's a lot to do," Cole said. "So let's get to work."

* * *

"What a way to spend the afternoon…" Dana sighed as she led the way back to the house. It was late in the day, nearing sunset. May, Austin, the Twins, Ella, and her family (actually, everyone but Jackie, who had gone back to the house after a while to start preparing dinner) had spent the entire afternoon gently pulling spikes out of Tauros hooves and removing similar spikes from the pasture. It had been trying work and many of the spikes had managed to go unseen to May. That meant many of them had wound up puncturing the skin of her hands or arms, causing much pain.

"Yeah," Cole agreed.

"And I'm starving," Ella moaned.

"You're not the only one," May added with a smile. However, that smile was replaced by laughter as both hers and Ella's stomachs suddenly chose the moment to grumble. The others quickly joined in their laughter.

Well, except for Austin. "Told you all it was scary how alike they are…but thankfully it's only with food and not crazy similar like the Twins…"

"Hey!" Bailey and Lola cried. "We're standing right here, you know!" This caused everyone else to burst into another fit of laughter, which only succeeded in irritating the Twins even more. Finally, however, after a few moments, they joined in as well.

"You're just in time," Jackie said as they all trooped in through the doorway. "I just finished cooking dinner. Now, I pulled the other table up from the basement, but we're all still going to have to squish together…" And she was right too. There were two brown tables in the dining room now, squished together to give a little more room. Still, they had a hard time fitting four on the sides and two on the ends. May wound up squished in between Ella and Lola. The talk at the table during dinner felt, at least to May, more like home than she could have expected. There was talk about Pokémon contests, Pokémon in general, experiences in Hoenn, and completely random topics as well. Not to mention the entire time everyone was either smiling and laughing or shoving food into their mouths. May and Ella weren't the only ones at the table who decided to have fourths. It seemed that only the Twins and Austin were the three who didn't have more than seconds.

Although it wasn't above Brock's cooking, Jackie's stew was definitely one of the better meals May had ever had in her life. And they had fresh Miltank milk to go with their meal as well.

When they finally excused themselves from the table, Ella led May, the Twins and Austin upstairs to show them where they would be sleeping.

"You get to sleep in Cole's room," Ella told Austin. "Sorry, but Mom's against the whole guys-sleeping-in-girl's-rooms thing." She smiled apologetically at him.

"Nah, it's cool," Austin said, peeking his head into Cole's room. "I'm sure Cole's usually bored with a family of girls. This gives him a chance to hang with another guy."

Ella nodded. "Twins, May," Ella addressed them. "We're having a sleepover in my room! Come on!"

"What about your sister?" May asked. "Don't you and Tori share a room?"

"Yeah, but she's sleeping in Dana's room while you guys are here!" Ella said, smiling as she led them to her room. Well, led the Twins there. May was a little hesitant, but she followed anyway, not wanting the others to see.

"Ella!" the Twins shrieked when they saw the right wall of Ella's room.

"When were you going to tell us you were in love with Drew, too?" Lola asked, placing her hands on her hips and staring at Ella accusingly.

"So much for accusing us earlier!" Bailey said with a playful frown.

"I'm not 'in love' with him! But…um…I probably should have mentioned this…heh…" Ella's gave them a small smile of slight embarrassment.

"You think?" the Twins both stared at the wall again. Then, they were off in their own little world as they glanced at each picture with comments like "Ooh, Twin! I like this one" or "Drew looks so hot there!"

"Wow," Austin said from the doorway, shaking his head. "Just wow…"

"Oh, May," Ella said, grabbing May's attention. "It looks like your clothes are dry…"

"Right," May walked to where she had hung them up and pulled them off the hangers. Then, she stuck them in her bag.

Ella squealed suddenly and jumped up and down, clapping her hands together. Surprised by her squeal, Austin lost his grip on the doorway that he was leaning against and nearly fell over.

"What's with you?" Austin asked, regaining his composure.

"I just had the _best_ idea!" Ella cried in a high-pitched girly voice.

"What's that?" the Twins chorused.

"If you all get your pajamas on we can go hang downstairs and watch a scary movie!"

"I don't know about scary," May said, "but that sounds like fun."

"Yeah," Bailey agreed. "How about no on the scary front and we watch a romantic movie instead?"

"You mean like that one about the Plusle and the Minun?" Lola sighed contently. "I absolutely_ love_ that movie! It's so cute!"

"I know what you mean, Twin," Bailey sighed too.

"No romantic movies!" Austin cried, shaking his hands in front of him. "I can _not_ stand that stuff! It makes me want to puke!"

"How about we just decide when we get down there?" May suggested, but it seemed like neither the Twins, nor Austen heard her.

"You're such a guy!" the Twins complained.

"You know what you two remind me of?" Austin said as he headed back to Cole's room, where he had dropped off his bag earlier.

"What?" the two called back in identically irritated voices. May shared a glance with Ella as the two of them tried desperately to restrain themselves from laughing at the stupidity of this argument between the Twins and Austin.

"Bug Pokémon!" Austin's voice shouted back to them. "All that comes out of your guys' mouths is annoying buzzing!" It was getting really hard for May to hold back her laughter. The look on Ella's face suggested she was having the same problem.

"Austin—" Bailey began.

"Shut it!" Lola finished.

May and Ella couldn't hold it any longer and burst into fits of laughter, but instantly tried to hide it as the Twins turned their glares on them too. However, that didn't last very long and they burst into a fit of giggles again.

"It's not funny!" the Twins cried out together. This only succeeded in making the other three laugh harder.

The Twins sighed and appeared irritated again. However, as soon as they glanced at each other, they burst out laughing just like Ella and May.

"Let's just go find a movie we _all_ want to watch," May said, grabbing her bag.

The Twins sighed. "We suppose…"

* * *

**Phew! That was another long one, huh? Well, at least it was action-packed! ... ... ...okay, not really. But hey! Drew made his debut! Yay! And no worries! He'll be back again soon enough! That's FOR SURE not the last we've seen of him! ^_^**

**Drew: And here I thought I was off the hook...**

**Me: Hush it, pal. **

**...**

**Anyway! Off to the Review Corner! **

**splitheart1120 - why, yes! May IS constantly remembering Drew! And it just seems like he keeps popping up again and again-whether in person or poster-form! ^_^**

**LoveLoverGrl - Actually, the intention behind May's reactions was supposed to be almost flattery or not really knowing HOW to react to what's going on. Ella and the others are pretty much telling her that a guy she barely knows likes her and she doesn't know how to respond to that. Not to mention Ella is the kind of girl that just wants to set a friend up with a good guy as soon as one strikes! I suppose this will pose quite a problem later on when Drew comes into the picture, huh? XD**

**Macy Webber - Three words: You. Entertain. Me. ^_^**

**Any questions/comments/concerns? I'll answer/address everything that is posted in reviews! Thanks!**

**And to everyone else reading, I thank you for doing so and it is implied that I am giving you an apple when you review! ^_^ Those who do NOT review...may recieve...a BITE of an apple. But ONLY a bite. That is all.**

**So please review, review, review and get apples! PLEASE! I need criticism and confidence-boosting! XD**

**Until next time!**

**- Lex**

**~NOZOMI!~**


	5. Practice Makes Perfect

**Hey peoplez! I'm back! And I'm SOOOOOO sorry it took so long! I am so overwhelmed with crap to do it's not even funny...but at least I found time to continue this at all! No worries! Here is an update for all of your enjoyment! **

**Drew: And Lexi still doesn't own Pokemon.**

**Me: But I still like to write about it! XD**

**So read on, my duckies!**

* * *

**Chapter 5: Practice Makes Perfect**

"Okay Bellsprout," Austin cried, calling his Pokémon to attention. "Use Vine Whip again!"

"Beeeeeeellsprout!" Bellsprout whipped his powerful green vines at the tree. The vines slashed against the tree bark, leaving large burns from the friction on the thick wood. However, they didn't stay long, but quickly faded instead.

"Try again," Austin directed gently. Bellsprout nodded, hastening to obey.

"Oh, come on, Austin," Lola whined from where she and her twin were sitting in the grass. The lump of ground they were perched on was barely a hill, yet it stood a little higher than where Austin and Bellsprout were practicing.

"Yeah, you've been at this for an hour now," Bailey complained.

"Don't you think Bellsprout's tired?" May added. She frowned as she watched Bellsprout breath heavily while he launched more of his vines at the tree.

"Bellsprout's just as much frustrated as I am," Austin said in a tight tone. "He'll keep trying until he gets it right. As will I."

"But the contest is in two days!" Ella shrieked, leaping up from where she had been sitting next to the Twins. "Don't you think you're overdoing it? You don't want Bellsprout to use up all his energy and not be able to compete, do you?"

"Exactly, Ella," Austin said, turning to face her. "The contest is in TWO days, which means we have only one day to get this right! Bellsprout, use Vine Whip again!"

"But…" Ella stuttered

"Let's just go," May said, removing her hand. "Austin can keep training if he wants to…"

"Yeah," the Twins agreed quietly, standing and walking back across the field, away from Austin.

"Come on, Ella," May said, retreating back across the field as well. After a moment more of watching Austin train, Ella followed her.

"It just doesn't seem right…Bellsprout's gonna be all tired tomorrow…I don't know it if will recover before the contest…" Ella chewed on her lower lip and glanced back again as Austin had Bellsprout whack the tree again with Vine Whip.

"No matter what you do, Austin's still going to train the way he wants to. And, no matter what you say, only Austin can determine what he thinks is good enough for the contest. We aren't going to be able to change his mind. I've learned that already…" May trailed off, focusing on a distant memory.

"I suppose…" Ella still looked troubled, but May wasn't really paying attention anymore. Her mind couldn't help but relate this moment to the Kanto Grand Festival…where Drew had been yelling at his Absol for using his Razor Wind incorrectly. Well, it was incorrect to Drew at least. The crowd had thought it had been amazing. That was the day he had yelled at her, too…called her a wimp…

"May?" Ella's voice cut into her thoughts. "Are you okay?"

"Huh?" she blinked, coming out of her temporary stupor. Her palms hurt, and her gaze flickered down. She hadn't even realized she'd been clenching her fists.

"You kinda spaced out there…"

"Oh, sorry Ella," May quickly put on a smile. "I'm fine. Don't worry."

"Okay…" Her friend didn't sound too convinced.

Luckily for May, Austin's groan of frustration behind them distracted Ella from asking any further questions.

"Again, Bellsprout," the boy ordered his Pokémon.

May turned back towards them, frowning. "Maybe you need a different target…"

He paused to glance back at her. "Huh?"

"Battle me."

"What?"

"Let's have a contest battle," May elaborated. "Maybe Bellsprout would get the move faster if his target was an actual Pokémon."

Austin's brow furrowed in thought. "Yeah…maybe…okay, fine! You're on, May!"

"What?" Ella cried. "You two are gonna battle TWO DAYS before a contest?"

Austin shrugged.

May nodded. "Why not?"

"Because that's crazy!" Ella's voice rose in pitch. "Your Pokémon will be SO exhausted!"

"Not if we play it safe and don't exhaust them too much," Austin said.

"What's going on?" the twin voices of Bailey and Lola cut into the conversation. They had moved back towards the trio to join the conversation.

"May and I are going to have a contest battle," Austin said.

"Really?" They looked to May for confirmation.

"Mmm-hmm," she nodded again.

"Cool. We're totally rooting for you, May!" They gave her two thumbs up.

"Hey! Some impartial friends you two are!"

"Who said anything about being impartial?" Bailey scoffed.

"Females for the win!" Lola cheered.

Austin rolled his eyes. "Where's Cole when I need him…?"

"Hey, good idea!" Ella smiled suddenly.

"What's a good idea?"

"I'll go get my siblings! They should be done with their chores now, and the Pokémon don't need to get fed for another hour so they should be able to come watch you two battle!"

May glanced at Austin before nodding. "Okay."

"Awesome!" Their black-haired friend did a little skip in place. "I'll be back in a bit! Don't start without me!" Then, she took off back towards the house, running at her usual quicker-than-ever-thought-normal pace.

Austin watched her retreating form. "Wasn't she the one who didn't want us to battle in the first place?"

The twins looked at each other, then shrugged. "That's our Ella for you…"

They laughed.

* * *

"Okay," Cole said in the best booming, announcer-ish voice he could muster. "The match between Austin and May is about to begin!" After Ella had returned with Cole and Tori (Dana had said she still had some work to do in the barn, but would be joining them shortly), Cole had volunteered to play the role of referee during their match. Of course, for him, that meant also pretending to be an announcer, apparently.

"Are you gonna keep that voice the entire time?" Tori asked from her perch on the grass next to her sister. "Because it's kinda annoying…"

"You're annoying," he retorted.

"Wow, _that_ was mature," Ella snorted. The Twins laughed from where they were seated a few paces away.

Cole just rolled his eyes. "Sisters…" Then, turning away from his siblings, he glanced at Austin and May. "Are you two ready for your match?"

"Yep," Austin confirmed.

"Ready," May nodded.

"Okay then," Cole's voice switched back into the booming tone. "The battle between May and Aust-"

"Hey!" a voice interrupted him. May turned, along with everyone else, to see Dana dashing up towards them.

"Dana, what's wrong?" Ella asked, rising from the grass.

Dana took a moment to catch her breath. "There's a wild Spoink in the pen riling up all the Grumpig!"

"What?" Ella cried.

Dana nodded. "They're so angry that they're actually attacking the Spoink! I'm afraid they could really hurt it, but Miltank and I can't seem to calm them down! We've tried everything! And I think Dad's out herding the Tauros in the field and Mom's walking the Growlithe! I need your help!" She looked franticly at her siblings.

"We'll come right away," Tori said.

"Sorry, guys," Cole turned to Austin and May. "Can we postpone the battle? We've gotta go look after the Grumpig!"

Austin nodded. "Absolutely. We'll come, too."

"We should hurry," May agreed. "If we're too late, some of the Pokémon could get hurt."

"Then, let's go!" Ella cried, following Dana, who had turned around and dashed back towards the house. May took off with the others, following them.

"Miltank, mil!" Dana's Miltank called to them as they approached. She stood near the barn door on two stout legs and waved her two stout arms towards them. Her rope-thin tail swished behind her, and her black ears twitched.

"Miltank and I were trying to calm them down earlier, but nothing was working," Dana explained again as she patted her Miltank's black head.

The Pokémon hung its head sadly. "Mil…"

"Aw, it's okay," Dana said as she stroked between her Pokémon's white horns. "We tried our best."

Cole took a Pokéball from his pocket, but then seemed to think twice about it. "I'm not sure how good Politoad's Water Gun will be…" He frowned, glancing at the red and white ball in his hand.

"Well, maybe Politoad can't do much…but I think I know who can," Tori said matter-of-factly, a smirk tugging at the edge of her expression.

"Oh!" Ella cried. "Jigglypuff!"

Tori nodded and pulled a Pokéball out of the pouch she wore around her waist. "Jigglypuff, I need you!" she cried, throwing Jigglypuff's Pokéball into the air. With a flash of red light, the pink Pokémon stood before them.

"Jiggly?" She cocked her head curiously, blinking at them with her large eyes.

"Jigglypuff," Tori addressed her Pokémon, bending down to her height. "I need you to use Sing on the Grumpig and the wild Spoink, okay? Put them to sleep."

"Puff! Jiggly!" Jigglypuff nodded and ran, well, more like bounced, into the barn. Dana and Cole quickly shut the barn door. Still, they all had to plug their ears as the feint melody wafted through the wooden walls and door. When Jigglypuff finally finished her song, she rapped softly on the other edge of the door, making jiggle slightly. Cole pushed it open and the pink puffball leaped happily into Tori's arms.

"Way to go!" Tori praised her Pokémon.

"Puff, Puff!" Jigglypuff smiled happily.

"Now, return!" With a flash of light, Jigglypuff disappeared inside the Pokéball held in Tori's hand.

May followed the others into the barn to see how good of a job Jigglypuff did putting the Grumpig and the wild Spoink to sleep. At first, all May could see was a bunch of purple and black blobs smashed together in a single pen, snoring soundly. Then, the blobs slowly took shape to reveal Pokémon that were about half her height. They were portly Pokémon with stout, black legs and arms too, and a bit of a chubby purple belly. Their noses were oval shaped and a pink color, the same color as were their tails, which curled into two curly-cues. As they slept, some of them twitched their black ears, while others nodded their purple heads.

"Aw," May heard Bailey whisper to Lola. "They're so cute…"

"I know what you mean, Twin," Lola whispered back.

"Well," Cole said. "At least they're all asleep…this will make it much easier to round up that crazy wild Spoink…"

"Thank goodness you caught that Jigglypuff so long ago, Tori," Dana said, smiling at her sister.

"She really helps us out, doesn't she?" Tori said with a prideful nod.

"Yep," Ella nodded as well. However, she didn't get to say anything else because, at that moment, May heard a slight "Boing!" sound.

"What in the name of Arceus was that?" Austin asked.

"It sounded like…" Ella's voice trailed off as they heard more of that sound, coming closer and closer. Then, from the doorway that led out to the outdoor Grumpig pen, came a small little ball-like figure, almost half the Grumpigs' heights. It stood in the doorway, staring blankly at all of them, blinking occasionally with two little black eyes and bouncing up and down on its black curly-cue tail. Its spherical, ball-like body bounced up and down with the movement, and it flailed its tiny, black arms. Its face was on its small body; it didn't have any sort of neck. Its cheeks were orange and its nose was oval-shaped, like the Grumpigs', but black instead of pink. Two little ears poked out of its tiny ball form, and a large, pink, spherical ball protruded from to top of its "head." The ball was almost as big as the Pokémon's body, and it glistened in the little sunlight that shone into the barn.

"It's the Spoink!" Ella cried in shock.

"How did it _not_ be affected by Jigglypuff's song?" Tori wondered aloud the question that was racing through everyone's mind.

Well, except for the Twins…

"Aw," they chorused. "It's even cuter than the Grumpig!"

"Spoink!" the Spoink cried suddenly in what seemed to May like joy. Then, it sprang up, higher, into the air and began bouncing on all the Grumpig's backs, from Grumpig to Grumpig.

"Spoink, no!" Dana hissed in a tight whisper.

"We have to stop it!" Tori said, reaching for Jigglypuff's Pokéball.

"Wait!" Ella stopped her sister. "Jigglypuff's song didn't work, remember?"

"Right…" Tori sighed, appearing frustrated.

"Here, let me try" Austin offered. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a red and white Pokéball. "Bellsprout, go!"

"Bellsprout?" Bellsprout looked around curiously, taking in the surroundings.

"We have to stop that Spoink," Austin told the grass Pokémon. "Okay?"

"Bell!" Bellsprout focused its attention on the bouncing Spoink.

"Okay then! Grab it with Vine Whip!"

"Sprout!" Bellsprout launched his strong vines out towards the energetic Spoink.

"Spoi!" Spoink dodged the vines as it bounced. Bellsprout tried again and actually managed to slap into Spoink's body, knocking the Pokémon off balance. Spoink sprang upright, clearly angered.

"Bell!" Bellsprout's vines whipped toward it again.

"Spoink!" Spoink's eyes suddenly glowed a bright blue. Bellsprout let out a cry as it glowed blue as well and slowly was lifted off the ground. With tremendous force, Bellsprout was launched across the barn and crashed into the opposite wall with a heavy thud. The blue glow disappeared on impact. With a slight moan, Bellsprout dropped and collapsed in a heap on the barn floor.

"Bellsprout!" Austin cried, shock and worry contorting his face. He instantly ran towards his Pokémon.

"That Spoink can already use Psychic!" Dana's shock registered on her face as well as her voice.

"Huh?" May frowned, confused.

"That's what move it was using," Ella explained. "But, in theory, Spoink aren't supposed to be able to learn Psychic. They learn it when they evolve into Grumpig. It's strange how this Spoink knows how to use it already…"

"Bellsprout fainted!" Austin suddenly called back to May and the others.

"Our turn!" Bailey and Lola said together. "Mudkip, go!"

"Mud—" Bailey's Mudkip began as it appeared from his Pokéball.

"Kip!" Lola's Mudkip finished.

"Use Bubblebeam!" the Twins chorused to their Pokémon.

"Mudkip!" the two Mudkips cried together. They sucked in deep breaths and launched a bunch of bubbles at the bouncing Spoink.

"Spoi! Spoink, oink!" the Spoink's eyes flashed blue again. The bubbles froze in midair and glowed blue as well.

"Look out!" Ella cried. "The Spoink's using Psychic again!"

"Mudkip—!" Bailey began the order.

"Dodge!" Lola finished. The two Mudkip dodged to the side as the bubbles came flying back. They harmlessly smacked into the floor where the Mudkip had been standing seconds before.

"Now use Water Gun!" the Twins chorused.

"Mud!" the Mudkip answered together. However, before they could suck in the deep breath needed to conjure up the vast pump of water, they suddenly glowed the strange blue color.

"Mudkip, no!" Bailey and Lolo cried as their Pokémon were lifted up into the air. Then, they were tossed, simultaneously, towards the far wall. Just like with Bellsprout, the blue glow disappeared upon impact and both Mudkip collapsed.

"That's a powerful Psychic attack, too," Austin observed. "That Spoink took out Bellsprout, and both the Mudkip with just one hit each…"

"What do we do now?" May asked.

"We'll give it a go!" Cole threw a Pokéball into the air. "Politoad, it's your turn!"

"Politoad!" his Pokémon cried as he appeared with a flash of red. He bounced up and down on his two light green, webbed feet. The swirl of green and yellow on his round stomach moved with his body. He didn't really have a neck, but rather his body curved into a sleek, bald-topped head with two giant brown eyes and small, pink, circular cheeks. A thin, black protrusion shot up from the top of his head and curled near the end. He balled his little fists, ready to attack the Spoink at Cole's command.

Unfortunately for either of them, Spoink seemed to be too mad already to take anything else. The mere appearance of Politoad must have upset it enough, as its eyes already turned blue. Politoad was suddenly bathed in the same blue glow before being tossed backwards.

"Politoad," Cole cried, diving forward and catching his Pokémon before he slammed into the wall. "Are you okay?" he asked with concern.

"Poli," the water Pokémon managed.

"This isn't working," May shook her head.

"Maybe if we all tried together, we could at least land a hit!" Tori offered.

"Yeah, that could work!" Ella nodded. "Here, I'll grab Mareep!" She reached into her pocket. However, as she pulled out Mareep's Pokéball, another one dropped to the ground.

"Nice," Austin teased lightly.

"Oops," Ella laughed. "I'm so clumsy…" She bent down to pick up the ball, but the same blue light suddenly encased it. Then, it rose into the air and floated over toward the Spoink.

"What's it doing?" Tori asked, cocking her head and frowning. "Why would it be interested in that Pokéball?"

"Maybe it's never seen one before…" May offered, watching the Spoink curiously now.

"Spoink!" the Pokémon shouted suddenly, startling May and the others. Then, it did something completely unexpected. Touching its little black nose to the ball, it opened and disappeared inside it with a flash of red light. The ball twitched back and forth for a brief moment, before it went still. Ella, May, Austin, the Twins, Dana, Cole, and Tori stood there with their mouths open for the longest time, shock equally apparent on each of their faces.

Then, Ella regained her composure and walked slowly towards the Grumpig pen. She opened the pen gate and stepped around the Pokémon towards the Pokéball. Bending down, she picked it up from the ground.

"Did I…?" her voice trailed off as she looked at the Pokéball in her hand.

"Yeah," the Twins breathed quietly.

"Mmm-hmm," May blinked in astonishment.

"That is most definitely the weirdest catch I've ever seen," Austin added.

"So I just…caught that Spoink?" Ella glanced at her siblings.

"I guess so," Cole said with a shrug.

"Funny, that Spoink's almost as energetic as Ella every day…" Dana piped in with a small laugh. "Perhaps it's Fate…"

As if she was supposed to prove her sister correct, Ella suddenly squealed, "I caught a Spoink! That Spoink is mine!" She started bouncing up and down.

"Stop Ella!" Tori cried. "One, you're starting to _act_ like that Spoink, and two, you'll wake up the Grumpig if you keep that up!"

"Oh, right," Ella said, blushing slightly from embarrassment. "I guess I'm just happy is all." Stepping carefully, she made her way to the gate and out of the Grumpig pen without waking up any of the slumbering Pokémon.

"Like I said before, that was the strangest catch I've ever seen…" Austin commented again. Ella stuck her tongue out at him.

"Hey," the Twins spoke up quickly, "shouldn't you and May be having your battle now?" They glanced between the two.

"Oh, right," Austin frowned, "but I don't think Bellsprout will be able to battle just yet…"

"Yeah, I don't think it would be a good idea just yet," May agreed. "We'll have to wait a while."

"But then what do we do now?" Ella asked.

Just then, as if to answer the question, May's stomach let out a loud growl. May's cheeks flushed pink and the others laughed.

"Well, I think that answers your question, huh?" Dana laughed. "And it's no good battling on an empty stomach anyway! So how about we head back to the house for some lunch. Mom made some sandwiches for us earlier and you all earned it for coming to help. We can feed the Pokémon, too, and take care of Bellsprout, Politoad, and the two Mudkip. We have healing supplies back at the house."

"And then, when all that's over, May and Austin can have their Pokémon battle," Cole nodded.

"Sounds like a plan to me," May said, sighing as her stomach growled again. But she soon found herself laughing along with everyone else as they made their way back to the house.

* * *

"Are we ready to begin the match?" Cole asked, a smile on his face and his voice booming again.

"Yep," Austin nodded.

"I'm ready," May added quickly.

"All right, then," Cole turned very professional. "The match between Austin and May will begin…now!" He quickly ran off the "battlefield" as both Co-ordinators took out their Pokéballs.

"Bellsprout, go!" Austin launched Bellsprout's Pokéball into the air.

"Bell! Sprout!" the grass type Pokémon cried as it landed on the field.

"Munchlax," May cried, throwing Munchlax's Pokéball into the air, "take the stage!"

"Munchlax!" Munchlax landed softly on the grass.

"Okay Munchlax, Focus Punch!" May instructed. She needed to get this started with as much force as she could.

"Munch!" Munchlax screamed as he powered up his fists.

"Vine Whip!" Austin ordered.

"Bellsprout!" his grass Pokémon cried as it whipped its green vines towards May's Munchlax with incredible speed, smacking the lethargic Pokémon backwards with the force.

"Munchlax!" May cried. It was apparent now just how much Austin and Bellsprout's training had paid off, and she had been right when she said Bellsprout would get it if they practiced with a real target. The vines were amazingly fast. So speed was a factor with him, huh…

Munchlax picked itself up rather quickly, his expression determined to keep going.

"Way to go!" May encouraged her Pokémon. "Focus Punch, again!" This time, she was ready for the vines when they came at Munchlax again. They lunged towards her Pokémon, who was charging forward while focusing his power in his fist.

"Dodge!" May shrieked quickly, anticipating where the vines would strike. Munchlax responded by leaping up into the air, causing the vines to shoot right past him. If Drew had been watching, he would be shaking his head at her choice in moves. But she wasn't battling for her sake at the moment. No, she was working on exactly what he had told her, instead: her style. And she had decided that the best way to figure out one of her own was to first analyze the styles of others. Hence why she was battling the way she was; hopefully to draw out Austin's style.

"Now use that Focus Punch!" she cried after Munchlax was out of harm's way. Munchlax descended quickly, his fist glowing with a blinding white light.

But instead of appearing worried, Austin laughed. "That's what I thought you'd do, May. Okay, Bellsprout, grab Munchlax!"

"Bell!" Bellsprout's vines whipped around towards Munchlax from behind.

"Munch…?" Munchlax cried out as the vines wrapped around his legs. His Focus Punch immediately died out as he struggled to get away.

"Now give Munchlax a toss!" Austin directed, and Bellsprout hastened to obey, swinging May's Munchlax upward before crashing him down into the ground.

"Munchlax!" Normally, May would have been more worried about the battle, but since it wasn't her first priority here, she was only worried about her Pokémon's health.

"Munch…" Munchlax said weakly as he tried to stand up, stumbling a little.

"Are you all right?" May asked him.

"Lax! Munch!" Munchlax nodded.

May breathed a sigh of relief and turned her thoughts back to the battle. "Okay then Munchlax, use Metronome!" Since it was only a practice battle, why not? Though it was only a last result in real battles, here she could bother taking the risk.

"Munch!" Munchlax held up two fingers, which instantly glowed white. He waved his two fingers back and forth, creating a metronome-like movement.

"Metronome?" May heard Ella whisper to Dana from the sidelines. "Why would she use that move?"

"Metronome _is_ a risky move," her sister agreed. "But it can be really effective if you get the right move out of it. But there are a lot of moves Pokémon can learn and the chance that you'll get the right move is very slim. I don't know what May has in mind, truth be told."

"Quick, Bellsprout!" Austin cried. "Razor Leaf!" Bellsprout reared back and flung sharp leaves towards Munchlax.

But before they could reach him, Munchlax gave a cry and was engulfed in a blinding white light that spread from his fingertips. Then, all of a sudden, a spinning burst of flames blasted their way out towards Austin's Bellsprout.

"Fire Spin!" Ella cried in disbelief from the sidelines.

"Told you there could be good results from Metronome," Dana repeated with a nod. "May's extremely lucky…"

"Whoo! Go May!" the Twins cheered.

"Way to go Munchlax!" May called as the fire spin twirled its way through the air. The blast slammed into Bellsprout full force, knocking the grass Pokémon over. When the flames decreased and died away, Bellsprout could be seen clearly; completely knocked out and lying in the grass.

"That's it!" Cole's voice boomed. "The match is over, and May's the winner!"

May dashed over to her Munchlax, nearly choking him to death with how tightly she was hugging him. "You were amazing, Munchlax!"

"Munch!" Munchlax smiled.

"Wow, May!" Ella cried, dashing across the field towards her. "You're awesome! You beat Austin! Oh, man! If you battle that way at the contest, you'll win for sure!"

May laughed. "Thanks Ella, but I'm not so sure about that. Though I _am _sure you'll do well. And I only beat Austin on dumb luck anyway. If Metronome hadn't come up with Fire Spin, Munchlax and I probably would have lost."

"Nah, you still did amazing!" her friend chirped. "You battled fairly and you won! It seems like a worthy victory to me!"

May smiled. "Thanks Ella. And like I said, I'm sure you'll have your victories at the contest, too."

"I'm going to do my best! Yep, yep yep!" Ella's smile never left her face. "Who knows? Maybe we'll face of in the final round!"

"Maybe," May nodded, smiling as well.

"You never know what will happen," Austin, who had joined them, commented lightly. He gave May a big smile. "But don't' worry about it, May. You really did battle extremely well, though perhaps the end result _was _because of luck," he joked. "But in all honesty, you showed off your Munchlax, too. Especially when you anticipated Vine Whip's course."

"Thanks," May repeated, even though she knew it wasn't her all she had given. Then, everyone else was upon her, congratulating her and talking about how well she was going to do in the contest. But Austin's words never left her head.

_He's right,_ May thought to herself. _You never know what will happen…Drew's going to be at this contest…who knows? It could even be me and Drew battling each other in the finals. _She sighed. _Guess I'll just have to wait and find out…but look out Drew! I'm going to do my best to beat you tomorrow! That I promise!_

* * *

**Yayz! Next I get to write about the contest! I'm so excited! ...and I hope I can think of good enough combinations!**

**Yes, as some of you noticed, I edited the last part of the conest battle. A very thoughtful reviewer pointed out May's OOC-ness during her battlined and stupid me forgot to mention to you why she was battling as she was! So, as I explained above, it was to improve her own style! Lolz! Yes, to some of you it may seem odd that she acted in this fashion, but I'm grabbing at straws here. In the end, I decided it's my fic so I should just go with what I would do and, if I were to pick out my own unique style of battling, I would first examine the style of others! ^_^ **

**So that's what I went with in the end! Hope it works! And sorry about the inconvenience! Hope this clears things up for you, KurunaGirl!**

**Anyways, off to the reviews!**

**raichu789 - Thank you so much! I had forgotten that moves needed to be capitalized! But no worries! I went back and fixed them! :)**

**splitheart1120 - Thanks for your continuing review support! And I do have to admit that Harley's character is extremely fun to write...!**

**Mewtastic - That is a waste of perfectly good skittles...lolz ^_^**

**FirePrincess251 - Don't worry! Soon, Drew will be around so much you'll be sick of him XD**

**LoveLoverGrl - Gotta love them Drew fans, huh? Lolz. But have no fear! I couldn't bring EVERYTHING about Drew into play yet, so I believe it's safe to say the rose will show up...eventually! ^_^**

**WitchHunterLover - Thank you! I'm glad you like it! :D**

**AzelfZekrom - I'm glad you like it, too! Thanks for the review!**

**Now remember, review and you get apples! That's all for today! I'll see you next time, and I'll try NOT to take two months to update this time! (I am so sorry!)**

**See you all next time!**

**- Lex**

**~NOZOMI!~**


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